The secret societies declared they would support Faisal's father Hussein bin Ali's revolt against the Ottoman Empire, if the demands in the protocol were submitted to the British. These demands, defining the territory of an independent Arab state to be established in the Middle East that would encompass all of the lands of Ottoman Western Asia south of the 37th parallel north,[2] became the basis of the Arab understanding of the Hussein–McMahon Correspondence.

Contents

The text was first translated into English by George Antonius in 1938, based on a copy of the protocol given to him by Faisal:[3]

"The recognition by Great Britain of the independence of the Arab countries lying within the following frontiers:

North: The Line Mersin-Adana to parallel 37N. and thence along the line Birejek-Urga-Mardin-Midiat-Jazirat (Ibn 'Unear)-Amadia to the Persian frontier;
East: The Persian frontier down to the Persian Gulf;
South: The Indian Ocean (with the exclusion of Aden, whose status was to be maintained).
West: The Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea back to Mersin.
The abolition of all exceptional privileges granted to foreigners under the capitulations.
The conclusion of a defensive alliance between Great Britain and the future independent Arab State.

On 5 February 1914 the sharif's son Abdullah met Herbert Kitchener, British Governor General of Egypt and the Sudan, in Cairo and asked him whether Hussein could rely on British support in the event of Turkish moves against the Hejaz. At this point Kitchener could offer no encouragement, but two months later Abdullah met with Kitchener's Oriental Secretary, Sir Ronald Storrs, and was given the assurance that Great Britain would guarantee the status quo in Arabia against "wanton Turkish aggression".[4]

Abdullah I bin al-Hussein, King of Jordan (1949–1951) was born in Mecca, Ottoman Empire (currently Saudi Arabia)

British reluctance to oppose the Turks evaporated following the onset of war in August 1914. Kitchener, then Secretary of State for War, sent a message to Abdullah asking whether the Arabs would support Great Britain if Turkey joined the war on the side of Germany. Abdullah responded that the Sharif would support Britain in return for British support against the Turks.[4]

Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener

By the time of Kitchener's reply in October the Turks had joined the Germans,

Kitchener now stated that if the Amir and the 'Arab Nation' supported Britain in the war, the British would recognise and support the independence of the Amirate and of the Arabs and, further, would guarantee Arabia against external aggression. And then Kitchener gratuitously and on his own authority added a phrase that would generate controversy in London and the Middle East for years to come. 'It may be,' he concluded, 'that an Arab of the true race will assume the Caliphate at Mecca or Medina and so good may come by the help of God out of all the evil that is now occurring'.[5]

In his reply Hussein did not mention the Caliphate but said that he could not immediately break with the Turks because of his position in Islam.

Shortly after this declaration Hussein was approached by a representative of the Arab secret societies al-Fatat and Al-'Ahd who came to Mecca in January 1915 with the aim of persuading the Sharif to become leader of a revolt against the Ottomans. At the same time Hussein's eldest son Ali bin Hussein uncovered a Turkish plot to depose the Sharif in favour of Ali Haidar,[5] head of the dispossessed Motallib branch of the Sharifian family.[6] Hussein ordered his son Faisal to confront the Grand Vizier in Constantinople with evidence of the plot, but also to stop in Damascus to explore the viability of a revolt with the leaders of the secret socieities, which he did on 26 March 1915. After a month of talks Faisal was unconvinced of the strength of the Arab movement and concluded that a revolt would not succeed without the assistance of one of the Great Powers. On reaching Constantinople in April and receiving the news that an Arab declaration of jihad was viewed as essential by the Turks Faisal became equally concerned about his family's position in the Hejaz.[5]

On his return journey Faisal visited Damascus to resume talks with al-Fatat and Al-'Ahd and joined their revolutionary movement. It was during this visit that Faisal was presented with the document that became known as the 'Damascus Protocol'. The document declared that the Arabs would revolt in alliance with Great Britain in return for recognition of Arab independence in an area running from the 37th parallel north on the southern border of Turkey, bounded in the east by Persia and the Persian Gulf, in the west by the Mediterranean Sea and in the south by the Arabian Sea.[7]

Following deliberations at Ta'if between Hussein and his sons in June 1915, during which Faisal counselled caution, Ali argued against rebellion and Abdullah advocated action, the Sharif set a tentative date for armed revolt for June 1916 and commenced negotiations with the British High Commissioner in Egypt, Sir Henry McMahon via the Hussein-McMahon Correspondence.[7]

1.
Faisal I of Iraq
–
Faisal I bin Hussein bin Ali al-Hashimi, was King of the Arab Kingdom of Syria or Greater Syria in 1920, and was King of Iraq from 23 August 1921 to 1933. He was a member of the Hashemite dynasty, while in power, Faisal tried to diversify his administration by including different ethnic and religious groups in offices. However, Faisal’s attempt at pan-Arab nationalism may have contributed to the isolation of certain religious groups, Faisal was born in Mecca, Ottoman Empire in 1885, the third son of Hussein bin Ali, the Grand Sharif of Mecca. He grew up in Istanbul and learned about leadership from his father, in 1913, he was elected as representative for the city of Jeddah for the Ottoman parliament. In 1916, on a mission to Istanbul, Faisal visited Damascus twice, on one of these visits he received the Damascus Protocol, joined with the Al-Fatat group of Arab nationalists. On 23 October 1916 at Hamra in Wadi Safra, Emir Faisal met Captain T. E. Lawrence, Lawrence, who envisioned an independent post-war Arabian state, sought the right man to lead the Hashemite forces and achieve this. In 1916–18, Faisal headed the Northern Army of the rebellion that confronted the Ottomans in what was to become western Saudi Arabia, Jordan. After a 30-month-long siege he conquered Medina, defeating the defense organized by Fakhri Pasha, Emir Faisal also worked with the Allies during World War I in their conquest of Greater Syria and the capture of Damascus in October 1918. Faisal became part of a new Arab government at Damascus, formed after the capture of that city in 1918, Emir Faisals role in the Arab Revolt was described by Lawrence in Seven Pillars of Wisdom. However the accuracy of that book, not least the importance given by the author to his own contribution during the Revolt, has been criticized by some historians, British and Arab forces took Damascus in October 1918, which was followed by the Armistice of Mudros. With the end of Turkish rule that October, Faisal helped set up an Arab government, under British protection, in May 1919, elections were held for the Syrian National Congress, which met the following year. On 4 January 1919, Emir Faisal and Dr. look with the deepest sympathy on the Zionist movement and our deputation here in Paris is fully acquainted with the proposals submitted yesterday by the Zionist Organisation to the Peace Conference, and we regard them as moderate and proper. We will do our best, insofar as we are concerned, to them through. Weizmann argued that since the fulfillment was kept eventually, the agreement for a Jewish homeland in Palestine still held, in truth, however, this hoped-for partnership had little chance of success and was a dead letter by late 1920. Faisal had hoped that Zionist influence on British policy would be sufficient to forestall French designs on Syria, at the same time Faisal failed to enlist significant sympathy among his Arab elite supporters for the idea of a Jewish homeland in Palestine, even under loose Arab suzerainty. On 7 March 1920, Faisal was proclaimed King of the Arab Kingdom of Syria by the Syrian National Congress government of Hashim al-Atassi, in April 1920, the San Remo conference gave France the mandate for Syria, which led to the Franco-Syrian War. In the Battle of Maysalun on 24 July 1920, the French were victorious and he went to live in the United Kingdom in August of that year. E. Lawrence, more known as Lawrence of Arabia

2.
Al-Fatat
–
Al-Fatat or the Young Arab Society was an underground Arab nationalist organization in the Ottoman Empire. Its aims were to gain independence and unity for various Arab territories then under the Ottoman rule and it found adherents in areas such as Syria. The organization maintained contacts with the movement in the Ottoman and included many radicals and revolutionaries. They were closely linked to the Al-Ahd, or Covenant Society and this organizations parallel in activism were the Young Turks, who had a similar agenda that pertained to Turkish nationalism. Al-Fatat was formed in the aftermath of the Young Turk Revolution in 1908, the three Arab students were Ahmad Qadri of Damascus, Awni Abd al-Hadi of Jenin and Rustum Haidar of Baalbek. The trio decided to form an organization based on the Young Turks model. While in Paris, the trio was expanded by two Arab students from Beirut, Tawfiq al-Natur and Muhammad al-Mihmisani and another student from Nablus, together, the students founded the Society of Dad Speakers on 14 November 1909. Dad Speakers was a reference to the Arabs, whose alphabet contains the consonant dad, the name of their organization was quickly changed to Society of the Young Arab Nation and later shortened to Young Arab Society. Wary that the word Arab could attract the Ottoman governments attention, the Administrative Committee, in effect the supreme body of al-Fatats hierarchy, was established in Paris in 1911 by the organizations original members with the addition of Sabri al-Khawja of Iraq. The purpose of the congress was disseminate al-Fatats ideas, none of al-Fatats seven delegates identified themselves as members of the organization. Following the conclusion of the Arab Congress, negotiations began between the Decentralization Party and the Committee of Union and Progress in July, the CUPs offer was rescinded when the Decentralization Party made the offer public. According to Palestinian historian Muhammad Y, muslih, the CUP used the public disclosure of the offer as a pretext to end the negotiations. Following the 1913 congress, most of al-Fatats student founders returned to their homes in Ottoman Syria, al-Mihmisani was elected secretary-general of the movement, while Qadri became head of the Damascus branch. The name of the Ten Brothers Society referred to the first ten sahaba of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the group was led by its founder Muhammad al-Shurayqi and had branches in Latakia, Tripoli, Damascus and Beirut. The members based outside of Beirut were not given an indication of the location from which the letters originated from with The Desert being named by al-Mihmisani as the address of origin. The flag was composed by Muhibb al-Din in Cairo with cooperation from the Decentralization Partys secretary-general Haqqi al-Azm. Thereafter, al-Fatats members carried badges with the tricolor, in August 1914, al-Mihmisani and Muhibb al-Din met in Cairo where they agreed that al-Fatat and the Decentralization Party would from then on would coordinate with the Arab emirs of the Hejaz. Muhibb al-Din also notified al-Mihmisani that his party had begun establishing contacts with British officials and this decision was made after al-Fatat relocated its headquarters to Damascus in October 1914, shortly after the Ottoman Fourth Army moved its headquarters to Damascus

3.
Damascus
–
Damascus is the capital and likely the largest city of Syria, following the decline in population of Aleppo due to the ongoing battle for the city. It is commonly known in Syria as ash-Sham and nicknamed as the City of Jasmine, in addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major cultural and religious centre of the Levant. The city has an population of 1,711,000 as of 2009. Located in south-western Syria, Damascus is the centre of a metropolitan area of 2.6 million people. The Barada River flows through Damascus, first settled in the second millennium BC, it was chosen as the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate from 661 to 750. After the victory of the Abbasid dynasty, the seat of Islamic power was moved to Baghdad, Damascus saw a political decline throughout the Abbasid era, only to regain significant importance in the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods. Today, it is the seat of the government and all of the government ministries. The name of Damascus first appeared in the geographical list of Thutmose III as T-m-ś-q in the 15th century BC, the etymology of the ancient name T-m-ś-q is uncertain, but it is suspected to be pre-Semitic. It is attested as Dimašqa in Akkadian, T-ms-ḳw in Egyptian, Dammaśq in Old Aramaic, the Akkadian spelling is found in the Amarna letters, from the 14th century BC. Later Aramaic spellings of the name include a intrusive resh, perhaps influenced by the root dr. Thus, the English and Latin name of the city is Damascus which was imported from originated from the Qumranic Darmeśeq, and Darmsûq in Syriac, meaning a well-watered land. In Arabic, the city is called Dimašqu š-Šāmi, although this is shortened to either Dimašq or aš-Šām by the citizens of Damascus, of Syria and other Arab neighbours. Aš-Šām is an Arabic term for Levant and for Syria, the latter, the Anti-Lebanon mountains mark the border between Syria and Lebanon. The range has peaks of over 10,000 ft. and blocks precipitation from the Mediterranean sea, however, in ancient times this was mitigated by the Barada River, which originates from mountain streams fed by melting snow. Damascus is surrounded by the Ghouta, irrigated farmland where many vegetables, cereals, maps of Roman Syria indicate that the Barada river emptied into a lake of some size east of Damascus. Today it is called Bahira Atayba, the hesitant lake, because in years of severe drought it does not even exist, the modern city has an area of 105 km2, out of which 77 km2 is urban, while Jabal Qasioun occupies the rest. The old city of Damascus, enclosed by the city walls, to the south-east, north and north-east it is surrounded by suburban areas whose history stretches back to the Middle Ages, Midan in the south-west, Sarouja and Imara in the north and north-west. These neighbourhoods originally arose on roads leading out of the city and these new neighbourhoods were initially settled by Kurdish soldiery and Muslim refugees from the European regions of the Ottoman Empire which had fallen under Christian rule

4.
Constantinople
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Constantinople was the capital city of the Roman/Byzantine Empire, and also of the brief Latin, and the later Ottoman empires. It was reinaugurated in 324 AD from ancient Byzantium as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Emperor Constantine the Great, after whom it was named, Constantinople was famed for its massive and complex defences. The first wall of the city was erected by Constantine I, Constantinople never truly recovered from the devastation of the Fourth Crusade and the decades of misrule by the Latins. The origins of the name of Byzantion, more known by the later Latin Byzantium, are not entirely clear. The founding myth of the city has it told that the settlement was named after the leader of the Megarian colonists, Byzas. The later Byzantines of Constantinople themselves would maintain that the city was named in honour of two men, Byzas and Antes, though this was likely just a play on the word Byzantion. During this time, the city was also called Second Rome, Eastern Rome, and Roma Constantinopolitana. As the city became the remaining capital of the Roman Empire after the fall of the West, and its wealth, population, and influence grew. In the language of other peoples, Constantinople was referred to just as reverently, the medieval Vikings, who had contacts with the empire through their expansion in eastern Europe used the Old Norse name Miklagarðr, and later Miklagard and Miklagarth. In Arabic, the city was sometimes called Rūmiyyat al-kubra and in Persian as Takht-e Rum, in East and South Slavic languages, including in medieval Russia, Constantinople was referred to as Tsargrad or Carigrad, City of the Caesar, from the Slavonic words tsar and grad. This was presumably a calque on a Greek phrase such as Βασιλέως Πόλις, the modern Turkish name for the city, İstanbul, derives from the Greek phrase eis tin polin, meaning into the city or to the city. In 1928, the Turkish alphabet was changed from Arabic script to Latin script, in time the city came to be known as Istanbul and its variations in most world languages. In Greece today, the city is still called Konstantinoúpolis/Konstantinoúpoli or simply just the City, apart from this, little is known about this initial settlement, except that it was abandoned by the time the Megarian colonists settled the site anew. A farsighted treaty with the emergent power of Rome in c.150 BC which stipulated tribute in exchange for independent status allowed it to enter Roman rule unscathed. The site lay astride the land route from Europe to Asia and the seaway from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, and had in the Golden Horn an excellent and spacious harbour. He would later rebuild Byzantium towards the end of his reign, in which it would be briefly renamed Augusta Antonina, fortifying it with a new city wall in his name, Constantine had altogether more colourful plans. Rome was too far from the frontiers, and hence from the armies and the imperial courts, yet it had been the capital of the state for over a thousand years, and it might have seemed unthinkable to suggest that the capital be moved to a different location. Constantinople was built over 6 years, and consecrated on 11 May 330, Constantine divided the expanded city, like Rome, into 14 regions, and ornamented it with public works worthy of an imperial metropolis

5.
Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca
–
At the end of his reign he also briefly laid claim to the office of Caliph. A member of the Awn clan of the Qatadid emirs of Mecca, he was perceived to have rebellious inclinations, in 1908, in the aftermath of the Young Turk Revolution, he was appointed Emir of Mecca by Sultan Abdul Hamid II. Shortly after the outbreak of the revolt Hussein declared himself King of the Arab Countries, however, his pan-Arab aspirations were not accepted by the Allies, who recognized him only as King of the Hejaz. After World War I Hussein refused to ratify the Treaty of Versailles, in protest at the Balfour Declaration and the establishment of British and French mandates in Syria, Iraq, and Palestine. He later refused to sign the Anglo-Hashemite Treaty and thus deprived himself of British support when his kingdom was invaded by Ibn Saud, in March 1924, when the Ottoman Caliphate was abolished, Hussein proclaimed himself Caliph of all Muslims. In October 1924, facing defeat by Ibn Saud, he abdicated and was succeeded as king by his eldest son Ali and his sons Faisal and Abdullah were made rulers of Iraq and Transjordan in 1921. As a sharif he was a descendant of Muhammad through his grandson Hasan ibn Ali and his mother Bezm-i Cihan, the wife of Ali, was a Circassian. He belonged to the Dhawu Awn clan of the Abadilah, a branch of the Banu Qatadah tribe. In 1827 Sharif Muhammad ibn Abd al-Muin was appointed to the Emirate, becoming the first Emir from the Dhawu Awn and he reigned until 1851, when he was replaced by Sharif Abd al-Muttalib ibn Ghalib of the Dhawu Zayd. After being deposed he was sent along with his family and sons to reside in the Ottoman capital of Constantinople and it was there that Hussein was born to Muhammads son Ali in 1270 AH. Muhammad was reappointed to the Emirate in 1856, and Hussein, however, Muhammad died in 1858 and was succeeded by his eldest son Sharif Abd Allah Pasha. A few years later, in 1278 AH, Ali was recalled to Constantinople while Hussein remained in the Hejaz under the care of his uncle Abd Allah. Hussein was raised at home unlike other young sharifs, who were sent outside of the city to grow up among the nomadic Bedouin. Reportedly a studious youth, he mastered the principles of the Arabic language and was educated in Islamic law. Among his teachers was Shaykh Muhammad Mahmud at-Turkizi ash-Shinqiti, with whom he studied the seven Muallaqat, with Shaykh Ahmad Zayni Dahlan he studied the Quran, completing its memorization before he was 20 years old. During Abd Allahs reign, Hussein became familiar with the politics and he also participated in numerous expeditions to Nejd and the eastern regions of the Hejaz to meet with the Arab tribes, over whom the Emir exerted a loose form of control. He learned the ways of the Bedouin, including the skills needed to withstand the desert environment. In his travels he gained a knowledge of the desert flora and fauna, and developed a liking for humayni verse

6.
Ottoman Empire
–
After 1354, the Ottomans crossed into Europe, and with the conquest of the Balkans the Ottoman Beylik was transformed into a transcontinental empire. The Ottomans ended the Byzantine Empire with the 1453 conquest of Constantinople by Mehmed the Conqueror, at the beginning of the 17th century the empire contained 32 provinces and numerous vassal states. Some of these were later absorbed into the Ottoman Empire, while others were granted various types of autonomy during the course of centuries. With Constantinople as its capital and control of lands around the Mediterranean basin, while the empire was once thought to have entered a period of decline following the death of Suleiman the Magnificent, this view is no longer supported by the majority of academic historians. The empire continued to maintain a flexible and strong economy, society, however, during a long period of peace from 1740 to 1768, the Ottoman military system fell behind that of their European rivals, the Habsburg and Russian Empires. While the Empire was able to hold its own during the conflict, it was struggling with internal dissent. Starting before World War I, but growing increasingly common and violent during it, major atrocities were committed by the Ottoman government against the Armenians, Assyrians and Pontic Greeks. The word Ottoman is an anglicisation of the name of Osman I. Osmans name in turn was the Turkish form of the Arabic name ʿUthmān, in Ottoman Turkish, the empire was referred to as Devlet-i ʿAlīye-yi ʿOsmānīye, or alternatively ʿOsmānlı Devleti. In Modern Turkish, it is known as Osmanlı İmparatorluğu or Osmanlı Devleti, the Turkish word for Ottoman originally referred to the tribal followers of Osman in the fourteenth century, and subsequently came to be used to refer to the empires military-administrative elite. In contrast, the term Turk was used to refer to the Anatolian peasant and tribal population, the term Rūmī was also used to refer to Turkish-speakers by the other Muslim peoples of the empire and beyond. In Western Europe, the two names Ottoman Empire and Turkey were often used interchangeably, with Turkey being increasingly favored both in formal and informal situations and this dichotomy was officially ended in 1920–23, when the newly established Ankara-based Turkish government chose Turkey as the sole official name. Most scholarly historians avoid the terms Turkey, Turks, and Turkish when referring to the Ottomans, as the power of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum declined in the 13th century, Anatolia was divided into a patchwork of independent Turkish principalities known as the Anatolian Beyliks. One of these beyliks, in the region of Bithynia on the frontier of the Byzantine Empire, was led by the Turkish tribal leader Osman, osmans early followers consisted both of Turkish tribal groups and Byzantine renegades, many but not all converts to Islam. Osman extended the control of his principality by conquering Byzantine towns along the Sakarya River and it is not well understood how the early Ottomans came to dominate their neighbours, due to the scarcity of the sources which survive from this period. One school of thought which was popular during the twentieth century argued that the Ottomans achieved success by rallying religious warriors to fight for them in the name of Islam, in the century after the death of Osman I, Ottoman rule began to extend over Anatolia and the Balkans. Osmans son, Orhan, captured the northwestern Anatolian city of Bursa in 1326 and this conquest meant the loss of Byzantine control over northwestern Anatolia. The important city of Thessaloniki was captured from the Venetians in 1387, the Ottoman victory at Kosovo in 1389 effectively marked the end of Serbian power in the region, paving the way for Ottoman expansion into Europe

7.
George Antonius
–
George Habib Antonius, CBE was a Lebanese-Egyptian author and diplomat, settled in Jerusalem, one of the first historians of Arab nationalism. Born in Deir al Qamar in a Lebanese Eastern Orthodox Christian family, Antonius graduated from Cambridge University and joined the newly formed British Mandate Administration in Palestine as the deputy in the Education Department. His wife, Katy, was a daughter of Faris Nimr Pasha a wealthy Syrian Christian, Antonius had a difficult relationship with the British. Despite his senior position he and his wife were refused membership of the Jerusalem sports club which had a No Natives policy and he resigned his position in 1930 to join the Institute of Current World Affairs in New York City. He was secretary general to the Arab Delegation to the London Conference, Kramer, Martin Ambition, Arabism, and George Antonius in Arab Awakening and Islamic Revival, The Politics of Ideas in the Middle East, ed. Martin Kramer, 112-23. Documents of Western Betrayal and Arab Opposition from The Arab Awakening

8.
Mersin
–
Mersin is a large city and a port on the Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey. It is part of an interurban agglomeration – the Adana-Mersin Metropolitan Area – and lies on the part of Çukurova, a geographical, economical. Mersins nickname within Turkey is Pearl of the Mediterranean and the city hosted the 2013 Mediterranean Games, Mersin is the provincial capital of the eponymous Mersin Province of Turkey. As of 2014, the population of the city is 1,071,703 and this coast has been inhabited since the 9th millennium BC. Excavations by John Garstang of the hill of Yumuktepe have revealed 23 levels of occupation, fortifications were put up around 4500 BC, but the site appears to have been abandoned between 350 BC and 300 BC. In subsequent centuries, the city became a part of states and civilizations including the Hittites, Assyrians, Persians, Greeks. During the Ancient Greek period, the city bore the name Zephyrion and was mentioned by ancient authors. Apart from its harbor and strategic position along the trade routes of southern Anatolia. Ancient sources attributed the best molybdenum to the city, which minted its own coins. The area later became a part of the Roman province of Cilicia, the city, whose name was Latinized to Zephyrium, was renamed as Hadrianopolis in honor of the Roman emperor Hadrian. After the death of the emperor Theodosius I in 395 and the subsequent permanent division of the Roman Empire, the city was an episcopal see under the Patriarchate of Antioch. The bishopric is included in the Catholic Churchs list of titular sees, the area of Cilicia was conquered by the Arabs in the early 7th century, by which time it appears it was a deserted site. During the American Civil War, the became a major supplier of cotton to make up for the high demand due to shortage. Railroads were extended to Mersin in 1866 from where cotton was exported by sea, in 1909, Mersins port hosted 645 steamships and 797,433 tons of goods. Before World War I, Mersin exported mainly sesame seeds, cottonseed, cakes and cereals, cotton, cotton was exported to Europe, grain to Turkey, and livestock to Egypt. Coal was the most prevalent import into Mersin at this time, messageries Maritimes was the largest shipping line to use the port at Mersin. In 1918, Mersin was occupied by French and British troops in accordance with the Treaty of Sevrès and it was recovered by the Turkish army in 1920. In 1924, Mersin was made a province, and in 1933 Mersin, as of 1920, Mersin had five piers at its port, with one privately owned by a railroad company serving Mersin, Tarsus, and Adana

9.
Adana
–
Adana is a major city in southern Turkey. The city is situated on the Seyhan river,35 km inland from the Mediterranean Sea and it is the administrative seat of the Adana Province and has a population of 1.7 million, making it the fifth most populous city in Turkey. Adana-Mersin polycentric metropolitan area, with a population of 3 million, stretches over 70 km east-west and 25 km north-south, encompassing the cities of Mersin, Tarsus, Adana lies in the heart of Çukurova, a geo-cultural region alternatively known as Cilicia. Home to six people, Çukurova is one of the largest population concentrations in Turkey, as well as the most agriculturally productive area, owing to its large stretch of flat. Region covers the provinces of Mersin, Adana, Osmaniye, the earlier Egyptian texts for a country Danaja are inscriptions from Thutmosis II and Amenophis III. After the collapse of the Mycenaean civilization some refugees from the Aegean area went to the coast of Cilicia, the inhabitants Dananayim or Danuna are identified as one group of the Sea Peoples who attacked Egypt in 1191 BC during the reign of Ramesses III. Denyen are identified as inhabitants of the city Adana and it is also possible that the name is connected with the PIE da-nu Da-na-vo, Scythian nomad people, water demons in Rigveda. In Hellenistic times, it was known as Antiochia in Cilicia or Antiochia ad Sarum, the editors of The Helsinki Atlas tentatively identify Adana as Quwê, the Neo-Assyrian capital of Quwê province. The name also appears as Coa, and may be the place referred to in the Bible, the Armenian name of the city is Ատանա Atana or Ադանա Adana. According to an ancient Greco-Roman legend, the name has its origins in Adanus and Sarus, the Hittites names and writings have been found in the area, evidencing this possibility. Adanas name has had different versions over the centuries, Adanos, Ta Adana, Uru Adaniya, Erdene, Edene, Ezene, Batana, Atana, Azana. Adana is located at the edge of the Mediterranean, where it serves as the gateway to the Çukurova plain. This large stretch of flat, fertile land lies southeast of the Taurus Mountains, from Adana, crossing the Çukurova westwards, the road from Tarsus enters the foothills of the Taurus Mountains. The temperature decreases with every foot of ascent, as the road reaches an altitude of nearly 4,000 feet and it goes through the famous Cilician Gates, the rocky pass through which armies have coursed since the dawn of history, and continues to the Anatolian plain. The north of the city is surrounded by the Seyhan reservoir and HEP, the dam was constructed for hydroelectric power and to irrigate the lower Çukurova plain. Two irrigation channels in the city flow to the plain, passing through the city center from east to west, there is another canal for irrigating the Yüreğir plain to the southeast of the city. The 37th parallel north passes through the city, Adana has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate under both the Köppen classification, and a dry-hot summer subtropical climate under the Trewartha classification. Winters are mild and wet and summers are long, hot, the highest recorded temperature was on 8 July 1978 with 45.6 °C

10.
Mardin
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Mardin is a city in southeastern Turkey. The capital of Mardin Province, it is known for the Artuqid architecture of its old city, the territory of Mardin and Karaca Dağ was known as Izalla in the Late Bronze Age, an originally Hurrian kingdom. The city and its surrounds were absorbed into Assyria proper during the Middle Assyrian Empire, the ancient name was rendered as Izalā in Old Persian, and during the Achaemenid Empire according to the Behistun Inscription it was still regarded as a part of the geo-political entity of Assyria. It survived into the Assyrian Christian period as the name of Mt. Izala, on which in the early 4th century AD stood the monastery of Nisibis, in the Roman period, the city itself was known as Marida, from a Syriac/Neo-Aramaic name translating to fortress. Between c.150 BC and 250 AD (apart from a brief Roman intervention when it became a part of Assyria it became a part of the Neo-Assyrian kingdom of Osroene. A bishopric of the Assyrian Church of the East was centred on the town when it was part of the Roman province of Assyria and it was a suffragan see of Edessa, the provinces metropolitan see. Byzantine Izala fell to the Seljuks in the 11th century, during the Artukid period, many of Mardins historic buildings were constructed, including several mosques, palaces, madrassas and khans. Mardin served as the capital of one of the two Artukid branches during the 11th and 12th centuries, the lands of the Artukid dynasty fell to the Mongol invasion sometime between 1235 and 1243, but the Artukids continued to govern as vassals of the Mongol Empire. During the battle of Ain Jalut in 1260, the Artukid governor revolted against Mongol rule, hulegus general and Chupans ancestor, Koke-Ilge of the Jalayir, stormed the city and Hulegu appointed the rebels son, al-Nasir, governor of Mardin. Although, Hulegu suspected the latters loyalty for a while, thereafter the Artukids remained loyal unlike nomadic Bedoun, the Mongol Ilkhanids considered them important allies. For this loyalty they shown, Artukids were given lands in 1298 and 1304. Mardin later passed to the Akkoyunlu, a federation of Turkic tribes that controlled all the way to the Caspian Sea. In 1517, Mardin was annexed by the Ottomans under Selim I, during this time, Mardin was administered by a governor directly appointed under the Ottoman Sultans authority. In 1923, with the founding of the Republic of Turkey, during World War I Mardin, among other regions close by was one of the sites affected by the Assyrian Genocide and Armenian Genocide. On the eve of World War I, Mardin was home to over 12,000 Syriacs, in June 1915, most of the citys Christian notables and its Armenian male population were slaughtered and thrown into caves near Şeyhan. Others were sent to the camps of Ras al-Ayn, though some managed to escape to the Sinjar Mountain with help from local Chechens. Kurds and Arabs of Mardin typically refer to these events as fırman, the Syriacs managed to strike a deal with the Turks, sparing them from most of the bloodshed. Unfortunately, the Armenians, Catholics, and Chaldeans who did not manage to escape were massacred in totality, many Assyrian survivors of the violence later on left Mardin for nearby Qamishli in the 1940s after their conscription in the Turkish military became compulsory

11.
Midyat
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Midyat is a town in Mardin Province of Turkey. The ancient city is the center of a centuries-old Hurrian/Hurrian town in Southeast-Turkey, a cognate of the name Midyat is first encountered in an inscription of the Assyrian king Ashur-nasir-pal II. This royal text depicts how forces conquered the city and its surrounding villages, in its long history, the city of Midyat has been ruled by various different leaders and nations. The history of Midyat can be traced back to the Hurrians during the 3rd millennium, ninth century BC Assyrian tablets refer to Midyat as Matiate, or city of caves due to the caves at eleth 3 km away from the city where the earliest inhabitants lived. Many different empires had ruled over Midyat including the Mitannians, Assyrians, Armenians, Medes, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Abbasids, Seljuks and Ottomans. Midyat is a center of the Assyrians in Turkey. During the early 20th century, The Syriac population of the city started to diminish from immigration. The Syriacs up until then had control over the local government, from a population in 1975 of 50,000, taking up 10% of Mardin provinces demographic barely 2,000 were left by the end of the conflict in 1999. Now only around 3-5,000 live in Tur Abdin, with the other 15-17,000 living in Istanbul, the churches and houses belonging to the Christians have been preserved although many of them are empty, with their owners living away in Europe. At present some 130 Syriac Christians families continue to live in Midyat permanently, there are 5 Churches in the city, and all are Syriac. The City has many features which can make it easy to tell which areas are which. The city of Midyat is in fact two settlements- one to the east and one to the west. The Assyrian part of the city is in the east and the part of the city they live is distinguishable by the amount of buildings, churches. The Kurdish and Mhallami populated parts of the city are all of the buildings to the west of the Assyrian old town. The entire region is divided East-West along those lines in fact, during the late Ottoman period the city was divided up into different districts, still used in modern times. Similarly with Mardin, The City is known for its Syriac handicrafts such as carpets, towels, more specific to the city is its Syriac silver crafts called telkari, which are handcrafted filigreed ornaments. To the east of the city there is a winery that makes traditional Syriac wine, another staple in the Midyat market is its bulgur, which is a cereal food derived from wheat. Midyat part of the province of Mardin has a climate with very hot and dry summers and cold, wet

12.
Cizre
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Cizre is a town and district of Şırnak Province in the Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey, on the border with Syria, just to the northwest of the Turkish-Syrian-Iraqi tripoint. It is populated by a majority of Kurds in addition to Assyrian/Syriac people and it is surrounded by the Tigris on the north, east and south, this gives it its name, which means island in Arabic. Cizre has a climate with wet, mild, rarely snowy winters and dry. Daily summer temperatures of 113 °F or higher are common, as well as freezing temperatures in the winter. Cizre is historical Gazarta and Jazīrat Ibn ʿUmar, an important town during the Abbasid period, during the Early Iron Age, Cizre was in the kingdom of Kumme, north of Assyria. In classical antiquity, it was located in Corduene, bethzabde was part of the Roman province of Mesopotamia. The chronicler Msiha Zkha speaks of three bishops of Beth Zabdai in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, Merza, Soubha-liso e Sabtha, in 360 Bishop Theodorus was deported by the Persians, along with the general population, and died as a result of the forced march. In the late 4th or early 5th century Beth Zabdai or Jezira became a Nestorian bishopric, on entering into communion with Rome, it became the eparchy of Gazarta of the Chaldean Catholic Church. In 639 it became the seat also of the Syriac Orthodox Church and these Christians were severely reduced in the 1915 Seyfo massacres and the structures were allowed to lapse or were incorporated into other jurisdictions. Bethzabda is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see, al-Masudi reports that the spot where the ark landed could still be seen in his time. Benjamin of Tudela in the 12th century adds that ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb had made the remnants of the ark into a mosque, in the 19th century, it was the site of a Kurdish rebellion against the Ottoman Empire. Cizre was home to an Armenian community of about 3,000, however, in late June 1915, during the Armenian Genocide, the Armenian males, along with a few Syriac bishops, were arrested, tortured, and subsequently murdered. Many of the victims had their throat slit and were thrown into the river Tigris. The women were deported on rafts towards Mosul, a few survived through the means of adoption by local Kurds, however, most were raped and/or drowned. The remaining Armenian population, located in the parts of Cizre, was massacred on 8 August 1915. Within the Turkish Republic, Cizre was part of the Mardin Province until 1990, Cizre is located on the River Tigris, which forms the border line with Syria at this area. The state roads and that connect Mardin with Şırnak, as well as the route to Silopi run through the town, the border checkpoint in Cizre, the gate to Malikiye in Syria, was in use between 1940-1972. 17 of its citizens who fought with fellow Kurds died in Syria during the Siege of Kobanî, during the curfew the town had limited access to water and food and many of the injured were prohibited to receive professional medical treatment

13.
Amadiya
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Amadiya /ˌɑːməˈdiːə/ is an Assyrian and Kurdish populated town and popular summer resort and Hill station along a tributary to the Great Zab in the Dahuk Governorate of Iraqi Kurdistan. The city is situated 4,600 feet above sea level, the history of the city of Amadiya goes back as far as ancient Assyria, and it has probably existed even prior to that due to its strategic place on the flat top of a mountain. It was an Ancient Assyrian city known as Amedi from the 25th century BC until the end of the 7th century BC with the fall of the Assyrian Empire, Amadiya was the birthplace of the pseudo-Messiah, David Alroy. In 1163, according to Joseph ha-Kohens Emeḳ ha-Baka, the Jewish population numbered about a thousand families, Alroy led a revolt against the city but was apparently defeated and killed in the process. The Spanish Jewish historian R. Schlomo Ibn Verga portrayed the Jewish community of Amadiya at the time of Alroy as wealthy, Amadiya was the seat of the semi-autonomous Badinan Emirate, which lasted from 1376 to 1843. At the turn of the 19th century, the population already numbered 6,000, there are ruins from the Assyrian era and ruins of a synagogue and a church in the small town. The city also has an ancient mosque and a church, the town is perched on a mountain, formerly only accessible by a narrow stairway cut into the rock. Amedia has a community of Christian Assyrians and Muslim Kurds who share the city. A border crossing was once at at Habur, the town is 1,100 yards long and 550 yards wide. It houses 6,000 citizens in almost 1,200 houses, Amadiya has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate with short hot summers and long, cool, wet winters. Being the most northerly city in Iraq, it is the most mildest city in the country

14.
Abdullah I of Jordan
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Abdullah I bin al-Hussein, King of Jordan, born in Mecca, Hejaz, Ottoman Empire, was the second of three sons of Hussein bin Ali, Sharif and Emir of Mecca and his first wife Abdiyya bint Abdullah. He was educated in Constantinople and Hejaz, from 1909 to 1914, Abdullah sat in the Ottoman legislature, as deputy for Mecca, but allied with Britain during World War I. In 1910, Abdullah persuaded his father to stand, successfully, for Grand Sharif of Mecca, in the following year he became deputy for Mecca in the parliament established by the Young Turks, acting as an intermediary between his father and the Ottoman government. In 1914, Abdullah paid a visit to Cairo to meet Lord Kitchener to seek British support for his fathers ambitions in Arabia. This correspondence in turn led to the Arab Revolt against the Ottomans, during the Arab Revolt of 1916–18, Abdullah commanded the Arab Eastern Army. Abdullah began his role in the Revolt by attacking the Ottoman garrison at Ta’if on 10 June 1916, the garrison consisted of 3,000 men with ten 75-mm Krupp guns. Abdullah led a force of 5,000 tribesmen but they did not have the weapons or discipline for a full attack, instead he laid siege to town. In July he received reinforcements from Egypt in the form of howitzer batteries manned by Egyptian personnel and he then joined the siege of Medina commanding a force of 4,000 men based to the east and north-east of the town. In early 1917, Abdullah ambushed an Ottoman convoy in the desert, in August 1917, Abdullah worked closely with the French Captain Muhammand Ould Ali Raho in sabotaging the Hejaz Railway. Having heard of Abdullahs plans, Winston Churchill invited Abdullah to a tea party where he convinced Abdullah to stay put and not attack Britains allies. Churchill told Abdullah that French forces were superior to his and that the British did not want any trouble with the French, on 8 March 1920, Abdullah was proclaimed King of Iraq by the Iraqi Congress but he refused the position. After his refusal, his brother who had just been defeated in Syria and was in need of a kingdom, although Abdullah established a legislative council in 1928 its role remained advisory leaving him to rule as an autocrat. Prime Ministers under Abdullah formed 18 governments during the 23 years of the Emirate, Abdullah set about the task of building Transjordan with the help of a reserve force headed by Lieutenant-Colonel Frederick Peake, who was seconded from the Palestine police in 1921. The force, renamed the Arab Legion, in 1923 was led by John Bagot Glubb between 1930 and 1956, during the Second World War Abdullah was a faithful ally of the British, maintaining strict order within Transjordan, and helping to suppress a pro-Axis uprising in Iraq. His army, the Arab Legion assisted in the occupation of Iraq, Abdullah embarked on negotiations with the British to gain independence, on 25 May 1946 the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan was proclaimed independent and Abdullah crowned king in Amman. Abdullah, alone among the Arab leaders of his generation, was considered a moderate by the West and it is possible that he might have been willing to sign a separate peace agreement with Israel, but for the Arab Leagues militant opposition. Abdullah supported the Peel Commission in 1937, which proposed that Palestine be split up into a small Jewish state, the Arabs within Palestine and the surrounding Arab countries objected to the Peel Commission while the Jews accepted it reluctantly. Ultimately, the Peel Commission was not adopted, in 1947, when the UN supported partition of Palestine into one Jewish and one Arab state, Abdullah was the only Arab leader supporting the decision

15.
Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener
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His term as Commander-in-Chief of the Army in India saw him quarrel with another eminent proconsul, the Viceroy Lord Curzon, who eventually resigned. Kitchener then returned to Egypt as British Agent and Consul-General, in 1914, at the start of the First World War, Kitchener became Secretary of State for War, a Cabinet Minister. Kitchener died on 5 June 1916 when HMS Hampshire sank west of the Orkney Islands and he was making his way to Russia in order to attend negotiations when the ship struck a German mine. He was one of more than 600 killed on board the ship, Kitchener was born in Ballylongford near Listowel, County Kerry, in Ireland, son of army officer Henry Horatio Kitchener and Frances Anne Chevallier. His father had recently bought land in Ireland under a scheme to encourage the purchase of land after selling his commission. They then moved to Switzerland where the young Kitchener was educated at Montreux, then at the Royal Military Academy, pro-French and eager to see action, he joined a French field ambulance unit in the Franco-Prussian War. His father took him back to England after he caught pneumonia after ascending in a balloon to see the French Army of the Loire in action. Commissioned into the Royal Engineers on 4 January 1871, his service in France had violated British neutrality, and he was reprimanded by the Duke of Cambridge, the commander-in-chief. He served in Palestine, Egypt, and Cyprus as a surveyor, learned Arabic, Sir Walter Kitchener, had also entered the army, and was Governor of Bermuda from 1908 to 1912. In 1874, at age 24, Kitchener was assigned by the Palestine Exploration Fund to a mapping-survey of the Holy Land, replacing Charles Tyrwhitt-Drake, who had died of malaria. Conder and Kitchener’s expedition became known as the Survey of Western Palestine because it was confined to the area west of the Jordan River. The survey collected data on the topography and toponymy of the area, as well as local flora, the results of the survey were published in an eight-volume series, with Kitchener’s contribution in the first three tomes. This survey has had an effect on the Middle East for several reasons, The ordnance survey serves as the basis for the grid system used in the modern maps of Israel. The collection of data compiled by Conder and Kitchener are still consulted by archaeologists, the survey itself effectively delineated and defined the political borders of the southern Levant. For instance, the border between Israel and Lebanon is established at the point in upper Galilee where Conder and Kitchener’s survey stopped. In 1878 having completed the survey of Western Palestine, Kitchener was sent to Cyprus to undertake a survey of newly acquired British protectorate. Then in 1879 he became vice-consul in Anatolia, in 1883 Kitchener became a Freemason. On 4 January 1883 Kitchener was promoted to captain, given the Turkish rank bimbashi, Egypt had recently become a British puppet state, its army led by British officers, although still nominally under the sovereignty of the Khedive and his nominal overlord the Sultan of Turkey

16.
Hejaz
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The Hejaz, also Al-Hijaz, is a region in the west of present-day Saudi Arabia. The region is so called as it separates the land of the Najd in the east from the land of Tihamah in the west and it is also known as the Western Province. It is bordered on the west by the Red Sea, on the north by Jordan, on the east by the Najd and its main city is Jeddah, but it is probably better known for the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina. As the site of Islams holiest places, the Hejaz has significance in the Arab, historically, the Hejaz has always seen itself as separate from the rest of Saudi Arabia. The Hejaz is the most populated region in Saudi Arabia,35 % of all Saudis live in Hejaz, hejazi Arabic is the most widely spoken dialect in the region. Saudi Hejazis are of diverse origins. The Hejaz is the most cosmopolitan region in the Arabian Peninsula, people of Hejaz have the most strongly articulated identity of any regional grouping in Saudi Arabia. Their place of origin alienates them from the Saudi state, which invokes different narratives of the history of the Arabian Peninsula, thus, Hejazis experienced tensions with people of Najd. One or possibly two megalithic dolmen have been found in Al-Hijaz, the Hejaz includes both the Mahd adh-Dhahab and a water source, now dried out, that used to flow 600 miles north east to the Persian Gulf via the Wadi Al-Rummah and Wadi Al-Batin system. Archaeological research led by of Boston University and the University of Qassim indicates that the system was active in 8000 BCE. The northern part of the Hejaz was part of the Roman province of Arabia Petraea, Saudi Arabias first World Heritage Site that was recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is that of Al-Hjir. The name Al-Hijr occurs in the Qur’an, and the site is known for having structures carved into rocks, construction of the structures is credited to the people of Thamud. Despite their rather Polytheistic nature, a member of folk was a Monotheistic preacher called Salih. After the disappearance of Thamud from Mada’in Saleh, it came under the influence of people, such as the Nabataeans. Later, it would lie in a used by Muslim Pilgrims going to Mecca. According to Islamic sources, the civilization of Mecca started after Ibrahim brought his son Isma‘il and wife Hajar here and it was during such an occasion that Muhammad met some Medinans who would allow him to migrate to Medina, to escape persecution by his opponents in Mecca. Given that he had followers and enemies here, a number of battles or expeditions were carried out in this area, like those of Badr. They involved both Meccan companions, such as Hamzah ibn ‘Abdul-Muttalib, Ubaydah ibn al-Harith and Sad ibn Abi Waqqas, the Hijaz fell under Muhammads influence as he emerged victorious over his opponents, and was thus a part of his empire

17.
Sir Ronald Storrs
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Sir Ronald Henry Amherst Storrs KCMG CBE was an official in the British Foreign and Colonial Office. He served as Oriental Secretary in Cairo, Military Governor of Jerusalem, Governor of Cyprus, the eldest son of John Storrs, the Dean of Rochester. Ronald Storrs was educated at Charterhouse School and Pembroke College, Cambridge where he gained a first class degree in the Classical Tripos. Storrs entered the Finance Ministry of the Egyptian Government in 1904, five years later becoming Oriental Secretary to the British Agency, T. E. Storrs was always first, and the great man among us. Storrs is thought to have underestimated Arab Muslim resistance to non-Muslim rule, in 1917 Storrs became, as he said, the first military governor of Jerusalem since Pontius Pilate, for which purpose he was given the army rank of colonel. He was in fact the second British military governor of Jerusalem, succeeding Brigadier General Neville Travers Borton, also known as Borton Pasha, in 1921 he became Civil Governor of Jerusalem and Judea. In both positions he attempted to support Zionism while protecting the rights of the Arab inhabitants of Palestine and he devoted much of his time to cultural matters, including town planning, and to Pro-Jerusalem, a cultural organisation that he founded. In 1919, Storrs was appointed a Commander of the Order of the Crown of Italy, the country’s first chess club was the International Chess Club founded in Jerusalem in 1918 by Sir Ronald Storrs. Unfortunately the club closed within a year of its founding, due to the tensions between the Arabs and Jews. From 1926–1932 Storrs was Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Cyprus, a period included an attempted revolt during which Government House was burned to the ground. He was then appointed Governor of Northern Rhodesia in 1932 and he retired for health reasons in 1934, at the age of 53. Storrs was one of the six pallbearers at the funeral of T. E. Lawrence in 1935, in 1937 he published his memoirs Orientations. Between 1937 and 1945 he served on the London County Council and he died in 1955 and is buried at St John the Baptist Church, Pebmarsh. Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Kingdom of Iraq Ronald Storrs, Lawrence of Arabia, Zionism and Palestine. Georghallides, G. S. Cyprus and the governorship of Sir Ronald Storrs, the Memoirs of Sir Ronald Storrs. Middle East Politics & Diplomacy, 1904–1956, The Private Letters, marlborough, Wiltshire, England, Adam Matthew Publications. A Record of the War – The Second Quarter, works by or about Ronald Storrs at Internet Archive Memoirs of Sir Ronald Storrs at Internet Archive

18.
Mecca
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Mecca or Makkah is a city in the Hejaz region of Saudi Arabia that is also capital of the Makkah Region. The city is located 70 km inland from Jeddah in a valley at a height of 277 m above sea level. Its resident population in 2012 was roughly 2 million, although more than triple this number every year during the hajj period held in the twelfth Muslim lunar month of Dhu al-Hijjah. Mecca is home to the Kaaba, by majority description Islams holiest site, Mecca was long ruled by Muhammads descendants, the sharifs, acting either as independent rulers or as vassals to larger polities. It was conquered by Ibn Saud in 1925, during this expansion, Mecca has lost some historical structures and archaeological sites, such as the Ajyad Fortress. Today, more than 15 million Muslims visit Mecca annually, including several million during the few days of the Hajj, as a result, Mecca has become one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the Muslim world, despite the fact that non-Muslims are prohibited from entering the city. The Saudi government adopted Makkah as the spelling in the 1980s. The full official name is Makkah al-Mukarramah or Makkatu l-Mukarramah, which means Mecca the Honored, the ancient or early name for the site of Mecca is Bakkah. An Arabic language word, its etymology, like that of Mecca, is obscure, the form Bakkah is used for the name Mecca in the Quran in 3,96, while the form Mecca is used in 48,24. In South Arabic, the language in use in the portion of the Arabian Peninsula at the time of Muhammad. Other references to Mecca in the Quran call it Umm al-Qurā, another name of Mecca is Tihamah. Arab and Islamic tradition holds that the wilderness of Paran, broadly speaking, is the Tihamah, yaqut al-Hamawi, the 12th century Syrian geographer, wrote that Fārān was an arabized Hebrew word. One of the names of Mecca mentioned in the Torah, Mecca is governed by the Municipality of Mecca, a municipal council of fourteen locally elected members headed by a mayor appointed by the Saudi government. As of May 2015, the mayor of the city was Dr. Osama bin Fadhel Al-Bar, Mecca is the capital of the Makkah Region, which includes neighboring Jeddah. The provincial governor was prince Abdul Majeed bin Abdulaziz Al Saud from 2000 until his death in 2007, on 16 May 2007, prince Khalid bin Faisal Al Saud was appointed as the new governor. The early history of Mecca is still disputed, as there are no unambiguous references to it in ancient literature prior to the rise of Islam. The Roman Empire took control of part of the Hejaz in 106 AD, ruling cities such as Hegra, even though detailed descriptions were established of Western Arabia by Rome, such as by Procopius, there are no references of a pilgrimage and trading outpost such as Mecca. The first direct mention of Mecca in external literature occurs in 741 AD in the Byzantine-Arab Chronicle, claims have been made this could be a reference to the Kaaba in Mecca

19.
Germany
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Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed

20.
London
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London /ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain and it was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. Londons ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1. 12-square-mile medieval boundaries. London is a global city in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism. It is crowned as the worlds largest financial centre and has the fifth- or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world, London is a world cultural capital. It is the worlds most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the worlds largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic, London is the worlds leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. Londons universities form the largest concentration of education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted the modern Summer Olympic Games three times, London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region. Its estimated mid-2015 municipal population was 8,673,713, the largest of any city in the European Union, Londons urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. The citys metropolitan area is the most populous in the EU with 13,879,757 inhabitants, the city-region therefore has a similar land area and population to that of the New York metropolitan area. London was the worlds most populous city from around 1831 to 1925, Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and The Shard. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world, the etymology of London is uncertain. It is an ancient name, found in sources from the 2nd century and it is recorded c.121 as Londinium, which points to Romano-British origin, and hand-written Roman tablets recovered in the city originating from AD 65/70-80 include the word Londinio. The earliest attempted explanation, now disregarded, is attributed to Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae and this had it that the name originated from a supposed King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it Kaerlud. From 1898, it was accepted that the name was of Celtic origin and meant place belonging to a man called *Londinos. The ultimate difficulty lies in reconciling the Latin form Londinium with the modern Welsh Llundain, which should demand a form *lōndinion, from earlier *loundiniom. The possibility cannot be ruled out that the Welsh name was borrowed back in from English at a later date, and thus cannot be used as a basis from which to reconstruct the original name. Until 1889, the name London officially applied only to the City of London, two recent discoveries indicate probable very early settlements near the Thames in the London area

21.
Middle East
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The Middle East is a transcontinental region centered on Western Asia and Egypt. The corresponding adjective is Middle-Eastern and the noun is Middle-Easterner. The term has come into usage as a replacement of the term Near East beginning in the early 20th century. Arabs, Turks, Persians, Kurds, and Azeris constitute the largest ethnic groups in the region by population. Indigenous minorities of the Middle East include Jews, Assyrians and other Arameans, Baloch, Berbers, Copts, Druze, Lurs, Mandaeans, Samaritans, Shabaks, Tats, in the Middle East, there is also a Romani community. European ethnic groups form a diaspora in the region include Albanians, Bosniaks, Circassians, Crimean Tatars, Franco-Levantines. Among other migrant populations are Bengalis as well as other Indians, Chinese, Filipinos, Indonesians, Pakistanis, the history of the Middle East dates back to ancient times, with the importance of the region being recognized for millennia. Most of the countries border the Persian Gulf have vast reserves of crude oil. The term Middle East may have originated in the 1850s in the British India Office, however, it became more widely known when American naval strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan used the term in 1902 to designate the area between Arabia and India. During this time the British and Russian Empires were vying for influence in Central Asia, Mahan realized not only the strategic importance of the region, but also of its center, the Persian Gulf. Mahan first used the term in his article The Persian Gulf and International Relations, published in September 1902 in the National Review, a British journal. The Middle East, if I may adopt a term which I have not seen, will some day need its Malta, as well as its Gibraltar, it does not follow that either will be in the Persian Gulf. The British Navy should have the facility to concentrate in force if occasion arise, about Aden, India, mahans article was reprinted in The Times and followed in October by a 20-article series entitled The Middle Eastern Question, written by Sir Ignatius Valentine Chirol. During this series, Sir Ignatius expanded the definition of Middle East to include regions of Asia which extend to the borders of India or command the approaches to India. After the series ended in 1903, The Times removed quotation marks from subsequent uses of the term, in the late 1930s, the British established the Middle East Command, which was based in Cairo, for its military forces in the region. After that time, the term Middle East gained broader usage in Europe, the description Middle has also led to some confusion over changing definitions. Before the First World War, Near East was used in English to refer to the Balkans and the Ottoman Empire, while Middle East referred to Iran, the Caucasus, Afghanistan, Central Asia, and Turkestan. The first official use of the term Middle East by the United States government was in the 1957 Eisenhower Doctrine, the Associated Press Stylebook says that Near East formerly referred to the farther west countries while Middle East referred to the eastern ones, but that now they are synonymous

22.
Caliphate
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A caliphate is an area containing an Islamic steward known as a caliph —a person considered a religious successor to the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, and a leader of the entire Muslim community. During the history of Islam after the Rashidun period, many Muslim states, the Sunni branch of Islam stipulates that, as a head of state, a caliph should be elected by Muslims or their representatives. Followers of Shia Islam, however, believe a caliph should be an Imam chosen by God from the Ahl al-Bayt, before the advent of Islam, Arabian monarchs traditionally used the title malik, or another from the same root. The term caliph, derives from the Arabic word khalīfah, which means successor, steward, however, studies of pre-Islamic texts suggest that the original meaning of the phrase was successor selected by God. There was no specified procedure for this shura or consultation, candidates were usually, but not necessarily, from the same lineage as the deceased leader. Capable men who would lead well were preferred over an ineffectual heir, Sunni Muslims believe that Abu Bakr was chosen by the community and that this was the proper procedure. Sunnis further argue that a caliph should ideally be chosen by election or community consensus, the Shia believe that Ali, the son-in-law and cousin of Muhammad, was chosen by Muhammad as his spiritual and temporal successor as the Mawla of all Muslims in the event of Ghadir Khumm. The caliph was often known as Amir al-Muminin, Muhammad established his capital in Medina, after he died, it remained the capital during the Rashidun Caliphate, before Kufa was reportedly made the capital by Caliph Ali. At times there have been rival claimant caliphs in different parts of the Islamic world, according to Sunni Muslims, the first caliph to be called Amir al-Muminin was Abu Bakr, followed by Umar, the second of the Rashidun. Uthman and Ali also were called by the title, while the Shia consider Ali to have been the only truly legitimate caliph. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk officially abolished the system of Caliphate in Islam as part of his secular reforms, the Kings of Morocco still label themselves with the title Amir al-Muminin for the Moroccans, but lay no claim to the Caliphate. Some Muslim countries, including Somalia, Indonesia and Malaysia, were never subject to the authority of a Caliphate, with the exception of Aceh, consequently, these countries had their own, local, sultans or rulers who did not fully accept the authority of the Caliph. Abu Bakr, the first successor of Muhammad, nominated Umar as his successor on his deathbed, Umar, the second caliph, was killed by a Persian named Piruz Nahavandi. His successor, Uthman, was elected by a council of electors, Uthman was killed by members of a disaffected group. Ali then took control but was not universally accepted as caliph by the governors of Egypt and he faced two major rebellions and was assassinated by Abd-al-Rahman ibn Muljam, a Khawarij. Alis tumultuous rule lasted only five years and this period is known as the Fitna, or the first Islamic civil war. The followers of Ali later became the Shia minority sect of Islam, the followers of all four Rashidun Caliphs became the majority Sunni sect. Under the Rashidun each region of the Caliphate had its own governor, Muawiyah, a relative of Uthman and governor of Syria, succeeded Ali as Caliph

23.
Medina
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Medina, also transliterated as Madīnah, is a city in the Hejaz region of Saudi Arabia that is also the capital of the Al Madinah Region. The city contains al-Masjid an-Nabawi, which is the place of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It served as the base of Islam in its first century where the early Muslim community developed. Medina is home to the three oldest mosques, namely the Quba Mosque, al-Masjid an-Nabawi, and Masjid al-Qiblatayn, Muslims believe that the chronologically final surahs of the Quran were revealed to Muhammad in Medina, and are called Medinan surahs in contrast to the earlier Meccan surahs. Similar to Mecca, non-Muslims are forbidden from entering the core of Medina or the city centre by the national government. The Arabic word al-Madīnah simply means the city, before the advent of Islam, the city was known as Yathrib. The word Yathrib has been recorded in Surat al-Ahzab of the Quran, an alternative name is al-Madīnah an-Nabawīyah or al-Madīna-tu an-Nabī. As of 2010, the city of Medina has a population of 1,183,205, in addition to its Arab inhabitants, during the pre-Islamic era Yathrib was inhabited by Jewish tribes. Later the citys name was changed to al-Madīna-tu n-Nabī or al-Madīnatu l-Munawwarah, Medina is celebrated for containing al-Masjid an-Nabawi and also as the city which gave refuge to him and his followers, and so ranks as the second holiest city of Islam, after Mecca. Muhammad was buried in Medina, under the Green Dome, as were the first two Rashidun caliphs, Abu Bakr and Umar, who were buried next to him in what used to be Muhammads house. Medina is 210 miles north of Mecca and about 120 miles from the Red Sea coast and it is situated in the most fertile part of all the Hejaz territory, the streams of the vicinity tending to converge in this locality. An immense plain extends to the south, in every direction the view is bounded by hills and mountains. The historic city formed an oval, surrounded by a wall,30 to 40 feet high, dating from the 12th century CE. Of its four gates, the Bab-al-Salam, or Egyptian gate, was remarkable for its beauty, beyond the walls of the city, west and south were suburbs consisting of low houses, yards, gardens and plantations. These suburbs also had walls and gates, almost all of the historic city has been demolished in the Saudi era. The rebuilt city is centred on the vastly expanded al-Masjid an-Nabawi, the graves of Fatimah and Hasan, across from the mosque at Jannat al-Baqi, and Abu Bakr, and of Umar, the second caliph, are also here. The mosque dates back to the time of Muhammad, but has been twice reconstructed, because of the Saudi governments religious policy and concern that historic sites could become the focus for idolatry, much of Medinas Islamic physical heritage has been altered. Medinas importance as a religious site derives from the presence of al-Masjid an-Nabawi, the mosque was expanded by the Umayyad Caliph Al-Walid I

24.
Islam
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Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion which professes that there is only one and incomparable God and that Muhammad is the last messenger of God. It is the worlds second-largest religion and the major religion in the world, with over 1.7 billion followers or 23% of the global population. Islam teaches that God is merciful, all-powerful, and unique, and He has guided mankind through revealed scriptures, natural signs, and a line of prophets sealed by Muhammad. The primary scriptures of Islam are the Quran, viewed by Muslims as the word of God. Muslims believe that Islam is the original, complete and universal version of a faith that was revealed many times before through prophets including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses. As for the Quran, Muslims consider it to be the unaltered, certain religious rites and customs are observed by the Muslims in their family and social life, while social responsibilities to parents, relatives, and neighbors have also been defined. Besides, the Quran and the sunnah of Muhammad prescribe a comprehensive body of moral guidelines for Muslims to be followed in their personal, social, political, Islam began in the early 7th century. Originating in Mecca, it spread in the Arabian Peninsula. The expansion of the Muslim world involved various caliphates and empires, traders, most Muslims are of one of two denominations, Sunni or Shia. Islam is the dominant religion in the Middle East, North Africa, sizable Muslim communities are also found in Horn of Africa, Europe, China, Russia, Mainland Southeast Asia, Philippines, Northern Borneo, Caucasus and the Americas. Converts and immigrant communities are found in almost every part of the world, Islam is a verbal noun originating from the triliteral root s-l-m which forms a large class of words mostly relating to concepts of wholeness, submission, safeness and peace. In a religious context it means voluntary submission to God, Islām is the verbal noun of Form IV of the root, and means submission or surrender. Muslim, the word for an adherent of Islam, is the active participle of the verb form. The word sometimes has connotations in its various occurrences in the Quran. In some verses, there is stress on the quality of Islam as a state, Whomsoever God desires to guide. Other verses connect Islām and dīn, Today, I have perfected your religion for you, I have completed My blessing upon you, still others describe Islam as an action of returning to God—more than just a verbal affirmation of faith. In the Hadith of Gabriel, islām is presented as one part of a triad that also includes imān, Islam was historically called Muhammadanism in Anglophone societies. This term has fallen out of use and is said to be offensive because it suggests that a human being rather than God is central to Muslims religion

25.
Jihad
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Jihad is an Arabic word which literally means striving or struggling, especially with a praiseworthy aim. It can have many shades of meaning in an Islamic context, such as struggle against ones evil inclinations, in classical Islamic law, the term refers to armed struggle against unbelievers, while modernist Islamic scholars generally equate military jihad with defensive warfare. In Sufi and pious circles, spiritual and moral jihad has been traditionally emphasized under the name of greater jihad, the term has gained additional attention in recent decades through its use by terrorist groups. The word jihad appears frequently in the Quran with and without military connotations, Islamic jurists and other ulema of the classical era understood the obligation of jihad predominantly in a military sense. They developed a set of rules pertaining to jihad, including prohibitions on harming those who are not engaged in combat. In the modern era, the notion of jihad has lost its jurisprudential relevance, while modernist Islamic scholars have emphasized defensive and non-military aspects of jihad, some Islamists have advanced aggressive interpretations that go beyond the classical theory. Jihad is classified into inner jihad, which involves a struggle against ones own impulses, and external jihad. Most Western writers consider external jihad to have primacy over inner jihad in the Islamic tradition, gallup analysis of a large survey reveals considerable nuance in the conceptions of jihad held by Muslims around the world. Jihad is sometimes referred to as the pillar of Islam. In Twelver Shia Islam jihad is one of the ten Practices of the Religion, a person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid. The term jihad is often rendered in English as Holy War, in Modern Standard Arabic, the term jihad is used for a struggle for causes, both religious and secular. The Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic defines the term as fight, battle, jihad, nonetheless, it is usually used in the religious sense and its beginnings are traced back to the Quran and words and actions of Muhammad. In the Quran and in later Muslim usage, jihad is commonly followed by the expression fi sabil illah, in the path of God. Muhammad Abdel-Haleem states that it indicates the way of truth and justice, including all the teachings it gives on the justifications and it is sometimes used without religious connotation, with a meaning similar to the English word crusade. The context of the Quran is elucidated by Hadith, of the 199 references to jihad in perhaps the most standard collection of hadith—Bukhari—all assume that jihad means warfare. He said, The best jihad is the one in which your horse is slain, Ibn Nuhaas also cited a hadith from Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal, where Muhammad states that the highest kind of jihad is The person who is killed whilst spilling the last of his blood. According to another hadith, supporting one’s parents is also an example of jihad and it has also been reported that Muhammad considered well-performing hajj to be the best jihad for Muslim women. The practice of raids by Bedouin against enemy tribes and settlements to collect spoils predates the revelations of the Quran

26.
Allies of World War I
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The Allies of World War I were the countries that opposed the Central Powers in the First World War. The members of the original Triple Entente of 1907 were the French Republic, the British Empire, Belgium, Serbia, Greece, Montenegro, and Romania were affiliated members of the Entente. The 1920 Treaty of Sèvres defines the Principal Allied Powers as the British Empire, French Republic, Italy, the Allied Powers comprised, together with the Principal Allied Powers, Armenia, Belgium, Greece, Hejaz, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serb-Croat-Slovene state and Czechoslovakia. The U. S. declaration of war on Germany, on 6th April 1917 was on the grounds that Germany had violated its neutrality by attacking international shipping and it declared war on Austria-Hungary in December 1917. The U. S. entered the war as a power, rather than as a formal ally of France. Although the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria severed relations with the United States, the Dominion governments did control recruiting, and removed personnel from front-line duties as they saw fit. From early 1917, the War Cabinet was superseded by the Imperial War Cabinet, in April 1918, operational control of all Entente forces on the Western Front passed to the new supreme commander, Ferdinand Foch of France. The Austrian Empire followed with an attack on the Serbian ally Montenegro on 8 August, on the Western Front, the two neutral States of Belgium and Luxembourg were immediately occupied by German troops as part of the German Schlieffen Plan. On 23 August Japan joined the Entente, which then counted seven members, the entrance of the British Empire brought Nepal into the war. In 1916, Montenegro capitulated and left the Entente, and two nations joined, Portugal and Romania, on 6 April 1917, the United States entered the war. Liberia, Siam and Greece also became allies and this was followed by Romanian cessation of hostilities, however the Balkan State declared war on Central Powers again on 10 November 1918. In response to the Germans invasion of neutral Belgium, the United Kingdom declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914, gibraltar, Cyprus and Malta were British dependencies in Europe. The UK held several colonies, protectorates, and semi-autonomous dependencies at the time of World War I, in Eastern Africa the East Africa Protectorate, Nyasaland, both Northern and Southern Rhodesia, the Uganda Protectorate, were involved in conflict with German forces in German East Africa. In Western Africa, the colonies of Gold Coast and Nigeria were involved in actions against German forces from Togoland. In Southwestern Africa, the dominion of South Africa was involved in military actions against German forces in German South-West Africa. Canada and Newfoundland were two autonomous dominions during the war that made major contributions to the British war effort. Other British dependent territories in the Americas included, British Honduras, the Falkland Islands, British Guiana, and Jamaica. The UK held large possessions in Asia, including the Indian Empire which was an assortment of British imperial authorities in the territory now defined as India, Bangladesh, Burma, australia and New Zealand were two autonomous dominions of the UK in Oceania during the war

27.
Ali of Hejaz
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Ali bin Hussein, GBE was King of Hejaz and Grand Sharif of Mecca from October 1924 until he was deposed by Ibn Saud in December 1925. He was the eldest son of Sharif Hussein bin Ali, the first modern King of Hejaz, with the passing of the kingship from his father he also became the heir to the title of Caliph, but he did not adopt the khalifal office and style. The eldest son of Hussein, Ali bin Hussein was born in Mecca and was educated at Ghalata Serai College in Istanbul and his father was appointed Grand Sharif of Mecca by the Ottoman Empire in 1908. However, his relationship with the Young Turks in control of the Empire increasingly became strained, following the Revolts success, Hussein made himself the first King of Hejaz with British support. While Husseins sons Abdullah and Faisal were made kings of Jordan and Iraq, respectively, King Hussein soon found himself embroiled in fighting with the House of Saud, based in Riyadh. Following military defeats by Abdulaziz ibn Saud, King Hussein abdicated all of his titles to Ali on 3 October 1924. In December of the year, Saudi forces finally overran Hejaz. Ali and his family fled to Iraq, Ali bin Hussein died in Baghdad, Iraq, in 1935. He had four daughters and one son, Abd al-Ilah, who went on to become the Regent of the Kingdom of Iraq during the minority of King Faisal II. In 1906 Ali married Nafissa Khanum, daughter of H. H. Emir Abdullah bin Muhammad Pasha, Grand Sharif and Emir of Mecca at Yeniköy and they had one son and four daughters, HRH Princess Khadija Abdiya – born 1907 – died 14 July 1958. HRH Princess Aliya – born 1911 – died 21 December 1950, married her first cousin, HM Ghazi I King of Iraq, HRH Princess Badia – born June 1920, married H. H. Sharif Hussein bin Ali. They had a son, Sharif Ali bin al-Hussein, HRH Princess Jalila – born 1923 – died 28 December 1955, married Sharif Dr. Ahmad Hazim. Saudi Arabia Arab Revolt Kingdom of Hejaz Information on King Alis genealogy Description of the Royal House of Hejaz Family tree of the Hashemites

28.
Hashemite
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The House of Hashim, better known as the Hashemites Hashmi, are the royal family of the Hejaz, Iraq, and Jordan. Their eponymous ancestor is Hashim ibn Abd Manaf, great-grandfather of the Islamic prophet and his sons Abdullah and Faisal assumed the thrones of Jordan and Iraq in 1921. The dynasty is the oldest ruling dynasty in the Islamic World, the early history of the Hashemites saw them in a continuous struggle against the Umayyads for control over who would be the caliph or successor to Muhammad. The Umayyads were of the tribe as the Hashemites, but a different clan. After the overthrow of the Umayyads, the Abbasids would present themselves as representatives of the Hashemites, as they claimed descent from Abbas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib, an uncle of Muhammad. Muhammads father had died before he was born, and his mother died while he was a child, so Muhammad was raised by his uncle Abu Talib ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib, chief of the Hashemites. From the 10th century onwards, the sharif of Mecca and its Emir was, by traditional agreement, before World War I, Hussein bin Ali of the Hashemite Dhawu-Awn clan ruled the Hejaz on behalf of the Ottoman sultan. For some time it had been the practice of the Sublime Porte to appoint the Emir of Mecca from among a group of candidates. In 1908, Hussein bin Ali was appointed to the Emirate of Mecca and he found himself increasingly at odds with the Young Turks in control at Istanbul, while he strove to secure his familys position as hereditary Emirs. Sharif Hussein bin Ali rebelled against the rule of the Ottomans during the Arab Revolt of 1916. Between 1917 and 1924, after the collapse of Ottoman power, Hussein bin Ali ruled an independent Hejaz, of which he proclaimed himself king and his supporters are sometimes referred to as Sharifians or the Sharifian party. Hussein bin Alis chief rival in the Arabian Peninsula, the king of the Najd, Ibn Saud, annexed the Hejaz in 1925 and established his own son, Faysal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the region was later incorporated into Saudi Arabia. Hussein bin Ali had five sons, Ali, who succeeded to the throne of Hejaz before its loss to the Saud family in 1925. Abdullah, became the amir of Transjordan in 1921 and king of Jordan in 1946, Faisal, briefly proclaimed King of the Arab Kingdom of Syria in 1920, became King of Iraq in 1921. Prince Zeid bin Hussein, who moved to Jordan when his brothers grandson, King Faisal II of Iraq, was overthrown, hassan, died at a young age. Line of succession to the Jordanian throne Line of succession to the Iraqi throne Hashemite Lineage

29.
Grand Vizier
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In the Ottoman Empire, the Grand Vizier was the prime minister of the Ottoman sultan, with absolute power of attorney and, in principle, dismissible only by the sultan himself. His offices were located at the Sublime Porte, the term “vizier” was originally a denomination used by the Abbasid Dynasty in the 8th century AD. This position then came to the Ottomans in the early 14th century by way of the Seljuks of Anatolia, during the nascent phases of the Ottoman state, vizier was the only title used. The first of these Ottoman viziers who was titled Grand Vizier was Çandarlı Halil Pasha the Elder, the purpose in instituting the title Grand Vizier was to distinguish the holder of the Sultans seal from other viziers. The initially more frequently used title of vezir-i âzam was gradually replaced by sadrazam, throughout Ottoman history, the grand viziers have also been termed sadr-ı âlî, vekil-i mutlak, sâhib-i devlet, serdar-ı ekrem, serdar-ı azam and zât-ı âsafî. Çandarlı Halil Pasha the Elder reformed the role of the vizier in several ways, several before him held an equivalent but differently named office, he was the first who held the position of “Grand Vizier”, during the reign of Sultan Murad I. He was the first advisor with a military background – his forerunners had come from a more class of men. It is also significant that he was the first of a family that, at the time. Several of Çandarlı Halil Pasha the Elder’s kin went on to hold the office of Grand Vizier in the following his death. Çandarlı Halil Pasha the Younger, the grandson of Pasha the Elder, was highly influential in shaping the role of the Grand Vizier. During the reign of Mehmed II, the Younger opposed the siege of Constantinople, two days after the siege was won by Mehmed II, the Younger was executed for his opposition. After his death, the position of Grand Vizier was chosen nearly exclusively from the kul system, often and this was usually a political move, designed to appease powerful European factions to Ottoman supremacy. Grand Viziers gained immense political supremacy in the days of the Ottoman Empire. Power was centralized in the position of the Grand Vizier during the Köprülü era, Köprülü Mehmed Pasha was a powerful political figure during the reign of Mehmed IV, and was appointed to the office of Grand Vizier in 1656. He consolidated power within the position and sent the Sultan away from the city on hunting trips, next, he forcibly removed any officers suspected of corruption, those who did not leave were executed. He also conducted campaigns against Venice and the Hapsburgs, as well as quelling rebellions in Anatolia, on his deathbed five years later, he convinced Mehmed to appoint his son as the next Grand Vizier, thus securing his dynasty a position of supreme power in the Empire. It was during the Köprülü era that the Ottoman Empire reached its largest geographic expansion across Europe, Asia Minor, in Ottoman legal theory, the Sultan was supposed to conduct affairs of state exclusively via the Grand Vizier, but in reality this arrangement was often circumvented. He might, too, be inclined to take the advice of his mother

30.
Great power
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A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. International relations theorists have posited that great power status can be characterized into power capabilities, spatial aspects, while some nations are widely considered to be great powers, there is no definitive list of them. Sometimes the status of great powers is formally recognized in such as the Congress of Vienna or the United Nations Security Council. Accordingly, the status of great powers has also been formally and informally recognised in such as the G7. The term great power was first used to represent the most important powers in Europe during the post-Napoleonic era, the Great Powers constituted the Concert of Europe and claimed the right to joint enforcement of the postwar treaties. The formalization of the division between small powers and great powers came about with the signing of the Treaty of Chaumont in 1814, since then, the international balance of power has shifted numerous times, most dramatically during World War I and World War II. In literature, alternative terms for power are often world power or major power. There are no set or defined characteristics of a great power and these characteristics have often been treated as empirical, self-evident to the assessor. However, this approach has the disadvantage of subjectivity, as a result, there have been attempts to derive some common criteria and to treat these as essential elements of great power status. Later writers have expanded this test, attempting to define power in terms of military, economic. These expanded criteria can be divided into three heads, power capabilities, spatial aspects, and status, as noted above, for many, power capabilities were the sole criterion. However, even under the more expansive tests, power retains a vital place and this aspect has received mixed treatment, with some confusion as to the degree of power required. Writers have approached the concept of power with differing conceptualizations of the world situation. This differed from earlier writers, notably from Leopold von Ranke and these positions have been the subject of criticism. All states have a scope of interests, actions, or projected power. This is a factor in distinguishing a great power from a regional power. It has been suggested that a power should be possessed of actual influence throughout the scope of the prevailing international system. Arnold J. Toynbee, for example, observes that Great power may be defined as a political force exerting an effect co-extensive with the widest range of the society in which it operates, the Great powers of 1914 were world-powers because Western society had recently become world-wide

31.
Great Britain
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Great Britain, also known as Britain, is a large island in the north Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of 209,331 km2, Great Britain is the largest European island, in 2011 the island had a population of about 61 million people, making it the worlds third-most populous island after Java in Indonesia and Honshu in Japan. The island of Ireland is situated to the west of it, the island is dominated by a maritime climate with quite narrow temperature differences between seasons. Politically, the island is part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, most of England, Scotland, and Wales are on the island. The term Great Britain often extends to surrounding islands that form part of England, Scotland, and Wales. A single Kingdom of Great Britain resulted from the union of the Kingdom of England, the archipelago has been referred to by a single name for over 2000 years, the term British Isles derives from terms used by classical geographers to describe this island group. By 50 BC Greek geographers were using equivalents of Prettanikē as a name for the British Isles. However, with the Roman conquest of Britain the Latin term Britannia was used for the island of Great Britain, the oldest mention of terms related to Great Britain was by Aristotle, or possibly by Pseudo-Aristotle, in his text On the Universe, Vol. III. To quote his works, There are two large islands in it, called the British Isles, Albion and Ierne. The name Britain descends from the Latin name for Britain, Britannia or Brittānia, Old French Bretaigne and Middle English Bretayne, Breteyne. The French form replaced the Old English Breoton, Breoten, Bryten, Breten, Britannia was used by the Romans from the 1st century BC for the British Isles taken together. It is derived from the writings of the Pytheas around 320 BC. Marcian of Heraclea, in his Periplus maris exteri, described the group as αἱ Πρεττανικαὶ νῆσοι. The peoples of these islands of Prettanike were called the Πρεττανοί, Priteni is the source of the Welsh language term Prydain, Britain, which has the same source as the Goidelic term Cruithne used to refer to the early Brythonic-speaking inhabitants of Ireland. The latter were later called Picts or Caledonians by the Romans, the Greco-Egyptian scientist Ptolemy referred to the larger island as great Britain and to Ireland as little Britain in his work Almagest. The name Albion appears to have out of use sometime after the Roman conquest of Britain. After the Anglo-Saxon period, Britain was used as a term only. It was used again in 1604, when King James VI and I styled himself King of Great Brittaine, France, Great Britain refers geographically to the island of Great Britain, politically to England, Scotland and Wales in combination

32.
Turkey
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Turkey, officially the Republic of Turkey, is a transcontinental country in Eurasia, mainly in Anatolia in Western Asia, with a smaller portion on the Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. Turkey is a democratic, secular, unitary, parliamentary republic with a cultural heritage. The country is encircled by seas on three sides, the Aegean Sea is to the west, the Black Sea to the north, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. The Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles, Ankara is the capital while Istanbul is the countrys largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. Approximately 70-80% of the countrys citizens identify themselves as ethnic Turks, other ethnic groups include legally recognised and unrecognised minorities. Kurds are the largest ethnic minority group, making up approximately 20% of the population, the area of Turkey has been inhabited since the Paleolithic by various ancient Anatolian civilisations, as well as Assyrians, Greeks, Thracians, Phrygians, Urartians and Armenians. After Alexander the Greats conquest, the area was Hellenized, a process continued under the Roman Empire. The Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm ruled Anatolia until the Mongol invasion in 1243, the empire reached the peak of its power in the 16th century, especially during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. During the war, the Ottoman government committed genocides against its Armenian, Assyrian, following the war, the conglomeration of territories and peoples that formerly comprised the Ottoman Empire was partitioned into several new states. Turkey is a member of the UN, an early member of NATO. Turkeys growing economy and diplomatic initiatives have led to its recognition as a regional power while her location has given it geopolitical, the name of Turkey is based on the ethnonym Türk. The first recorded use of the term Türk or Türük as an autonym is contained in the Old Turkic inscriptions of the Göktürks of Central Asia, the English name Turkey first appeared in the late 14th century and is derived from Medieval Latin Turchia. Similarly, the medieval Khazar Empire, a Turkic state on the shores of the Black. The medieval Arabs referred to the Mamluk Sultanate as al-Dawla al-Turkiyya, the Ottoman Empire was sometimes referred to as Turkey or the Turkish Empire among its European contemporaries. The Anatolian peninsula, comprising most of modern Turkey, is one of the oldest permanently settled regions in the world, various ancient Anatolian populations have lived in Anatolia, from at least the Neolithic period until the Hellenistic period. Many of these peoples spoke the Anatolian languages, a branch of the larger Indo-European language family, in fact, given the antiquity of the Indo-European Hittite and Luwian languages, some scholars have proposed Anatolia as the hypothetical centre from which the Indo-European languages radiated. The European part of Turkey, called Eastern Thrace, has also been inhabited since at least forty years ago. It is the largest and best-preserved Neolithic site found to date, the settlement of Troy started in the Neolithic Age and continued into the Iron Age

33.
Persia
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Iran, also known as Persia, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a sovereign state in Western Asia. Comprising a land area of 1,648,195 km2, it is the second-largest country in the Middle East, with 82.8 million inhabitants, Iran is the worlds 17th-most-populous country. It is the country with both a Caspian Sea and an Indian Ocean coastline. The countrys central location in Eurasia and Western Asia, and its proximity to the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran is the countrys capital and largest city, as well as its leading economic and cultural center. Iran is the site of to one of the worlds oldest civilizations, the area was first unified by the Iranian Medes in 625 BC, who became the dominant cultural and political power in the region. The empire collapsed in 330 BC following the conquests of Alexander the Great, under the Sassanid Dynasty, Iran again became one of the leading powers in the world for the next four centuries. Beginning in 633 AD, Arabs conquered Iran and largely displaced the indigenous faiths of Manichaeism and Zoroastrianism by Islam, Iran became a major contributor to the Islamic Golden Age that followed, producing many influential scientists, scholars, artists, and thinkers. During the 18th century, Iran reached its greatest territorial extent since the Sassanid Empire, through the late 18th and 19th centuries, a series of conflicts with Russia led to significant territorial losses and the erosion of sovereignty. Popular unrest culminated in the Persian Constitutional Revolution of 1906, which established a monarchy and the countrys first legislative body. Following a coup instigated by the U. K. Growing dissent against foreign influence and political repression led to the 1979 Revolution, Irans rich cultural legacy is reflected in part by its 21 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the third-largest number in Asia and 11th-largest in the world. Iran is a member of the UN, ECO, NAM, OIC. Its political system is based on the 1979 Constitution which combines elements of a democracy with a theocracy governed by Islamic jurists under the concept of a Supreme Leadership. A multicultural country comprising numerous ethnic and linguistic groups, most inhabitants are Shia Muslims, the largest ethnic groups in Iran are the Persians, Azeris, Kurds and Lurs. Historically, Iran has been referred to as Persia by the West, due mainly to the writings of Greek historians who called Iran Persis, meaning land of the Persians. As the most extensive interactions the Ancient Greeks had with any outsider was with the Persians, however, Persis was originally referred to a region settled by Persians in the west shore of Lake Urmia, in the 9th century BC. The settlement was then shifted to the end of the Zagros Mountains. In 1935, Reza Shah requested the international community to refer to the country by its native name, opposition to the name change led to the reversal of the decision, and Professor Ehsan Yarshater, editor of Encyclopædia Iranica, propagated a move to use Persia and Iran interchangeably

34.
Persian Gulf
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The Persian Gulf is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Indian Ocean through the Strait of Hormuz, the Shatt al-Arab river delta forms the northwest shoreline. The Persian Gulf was a battlefield of the 1980–1988 Iran–Iraq War and it is the namesake of the 1991 Gulf War, the largely air- and land-based conflict that followed Iraqs invasion of Kuwait. The gulf has many fishing grounds, extensive coral reefs, and abundant pearl oysters, the body of water is historically and internationally known as the Persian Gulf. Some Arab governments refer to it as the Arabian Gulf or The Gulf, the name Gulf of Iran is used by the International Hydrographic Organization. The Persian Gulf is geologically young, having been formed around 15,000 years ago. Its length is 989 kilometres, with Iran covering most of the northern coast, the Persian Gulf is about 56 km wide at its narrowest, in the Strait of Hormuz. The waters are very shallow, with a maximum depth of 90 metres. Various small islands lie within the Persian Gulf, some of which are the subject of territorial disputes between the states of the region. The International Hydrographic Organization defines the Persian Gulfs southern limit as The Northwestern limit of Gulf of Oman and this limit is defined as A line joining Ràs Limah on the coast of Arabia and Ràs al Kuh on the coast of Iran. The Persian Gulf and its areas are the worlds largest single source of crude oil. Safaniya Oil Field, the worlds largest offshore oilfield, is located in the Persian Gulf, large gas finds have also been made, with Qatar and Iran sharing a giant field across the territorial median line. Using this gas, Qatar has built up a substantial liquefied natural gas, the oil-rich countries that have a coastline on the Persian Gulf are referred to as the Persian Gulf States. In 550 BC, the Achaemenid Empire established the first ancient empire in Persis, consequently, in the Greek sources, the body of water that bordered this province came to be known as the Persian Gulf. In the travel account of Pythagoras, several chapters are related to description of his travels accompanied by the Achaemenid king Darius the Great, to Susa and Persepolis, and the area is described. This water channel separates the Iran Plateau from the Arabia Plate, has enjoyed an Iranian Identity since at least 2200 years ago. Before being given its present name, the Persian Gulf was called many different names, the classical Greek writers, like Herodotus, called it the Red Sea. In Babylonian texts, it was known as the sea above Akkad, the name of the gulf, historically and internationally known as the Persian Gulf after the land of Persia, has been disputed by some Arab countries since the 1960s

35.
Mediterranean Sea
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The sea is sometimes considered a part of the Atlantic Ocean, although it is usually identified as a separate body of water. The name Mediterranean is derived from the Latin mediterraneus, meaning inland or in the middle of land and it covers an approximate area of 2.5 million km2, but its connection to the Atlantic is only 14 km wide. The Strait of Gibraltar is a strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Gibraltar. In oceanography, it is called the Eurafrican Mediterranean Sea or the European Mediterranean Sea to distinguish it from mediterranean seas elsewhere. The Mediterranean Sea has a depth of 1,500 m. The sea is bordered on the north by Europe, the east by Asia and it is located between latitudes 30° and 46° N and longitudes 6° W and 36° E. Its west-east length, from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Gulf of Iskenderun, the seas average north-south length, from Croatia’s southern shore to Libya, is approximately 800 km. The Mediterranean Sea, including the Sea of Marmara, has an area of approximately 2,510,000 square km. The sea was an important route for merchants and travelers of ancient times that allowed for trade, the history of the Mediterranean region is crucial to understanding the origins and development of many modern societies. In addition, the Gaza Strip and the British Overseas Territories of Gibraltar and Akrotiri, the term Mediterranean derives from the Latin word mediterraneus, meaning amid the earth or between land, as it is between the continents of Africa, Asia and Europe. The Ancient Greek name Mesogeios, is similarly from μέσο, between + γη, land, earth) and it can be compared with the Ancient Greek name Mesopotamia, meaning between rivers. The Mediterranean Sea has historically had several names, for example, the Carthaginians called it the Syrian Sea and latter Romans commonly called it Mare Nostrum, and occasionally Mare Internum. Another name was the Sea of the Philistines, from the people inhabiting a large portion of its shores near the Israelites, the sea is also called the Great Sea in the General Prologue by Geoffrey Chaucer. In Ottoman Turkish, it has also been called Bahr-i Sefid, in Modern Hebrew, it has been called HaYam HaTikhon, the Middle Sea, reflecting the Seas name in ancient Greek, Latin, and modern languages in both Europe and the Middle East. Similarly, in Modern Arabic, it is known as al-Baḥr al-Mutawassiṭ, in Turkish, it is known as Akdeniz, the White Sea since among Turks the white colour represents the west. Several ancient civilisations were located around the Mediterranean shores, and were influenced by their proximity to the sea. It provided routes for trade, colonisation, and war, as well as food for numerous communities throughout the ages, due to the shared climate, geology, and access to the sea, cultures centered on the Mediterranean tended to have some extent of intertwined culture and history. Two of the most notable Mediterranean civilisations in classical antiquity were the Greek city states, later, when Augustus founded the Roman Empire, the Romans referred to the Mediterranean as Mare Nostrum

36.
Arabian Sea
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The Arabian Sea is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by northeastern Somalia and the Arabian Peninsula, and on the east by India. Historically the sea has been known by names including the Erythraean Sea. Its total area is 3,862,000 km2 and its depth is 4,652 metres. The Gulf of Aden is in the southwest, connecting the Arabian Sea to the Red Sea through the strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, the Arabian Sea has been crossed by important marine trade routes since the third or second millennium BCE. Major seaports include Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai, the Port of Karachi and the Gwadar Port in Pakistan, other important ports include in India, Kandla Port, and Mormugao in Goa. The largest islands in the Arabian Sea include Socotra, Masirah Island, Astola Island, the Arabian Seas surface area is about 3,862,000 km2. The maximum width of the Sea is approximately 2,400 km, the biggest river flowing into the Sea is the Indus River. There are also the gulfs of Khambhat and Kutch on the Indian coast, the countries with coastlines on the Arabian Sea are Somalia, Djibouti, Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Pakistan, India and the Maldives. There are several cities on the seas coast including Mumbai, Surat, Karachi, Gwadar, Pasni, Ormara, Aden, Muscat, Keti Bandar, Salalah, Duqm. International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Arabian Sea as follows, the Eastern limit of the Gulf of Aden. A line joining Ràs al Hadd, East point of Arabia, a line running from the South extremity of Addu Atoll, to the Eastern extreme of Ràs Hafun. The Western limit of the Laccadive Sea, by the time of Julius Caesar, several well-established combined land-sea trade routes depended upon water transport through the Sea around the rough inland terrain features to its north. Each major route involved transhipping to pack animal caravan, travel through country and risk of bandits. Later the kingdom of Axum arose in Ethiopia to rule a mercantile empire rooted in the trade with Europe via Alexandria, Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai is the largest port in the Arabian Sea, and the largest container port in India. The Port of Karachi is Pakistans largest and busiest seaport, handling about 60% of the nations cargo and it is located between the Karachi towns of Kiamari and Saddar, close to the main business district and several industrial areas. The geographic position of the places it in close proximity to major shipping routes such as the Strait of Hormuz. The history of the port is intertwined with that of the city of Karachi, several ancient ports have been attributed in the area including Krokola, Morontobara, Barbarikon (the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, and Debal. It warns sailors about whirlpools and advises them to safety in Kaurashi harbour if they found themselves drifting dangerously

37.
Ta'if
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Taif is a city in Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia at an elevation of 1,879 m on the slopes of Sarawat Mountains. It has a population of 1,200,000 people and is the summer capital. The city is the center of an area known for its grapes, pomegranate, figs, roses. The inhabitants of Taif are largely made up of Saudi Arabians who are Hanbali, there are also significant foreign populations, primarily from Asia, Turkey, and other Arab countries that are also present in Taif. In the 6th century the city of Tāif was dominated by the Banu Thaqif tribe and it has been suggested that Jewish tribes who were displaced by Ethiopian Christians in the Himyarite Kingdom wars settled near Taif. The town is about 100 km southeast of Mecca, the walled city was a religious centre as it housed the idol of the goddess Allāt, who was then known as the lady of Tāif. Its climate marked the city out from its dry and barren neighbours closer to the Red Sea, wheat, vines, and fruit were grown around Tāif and this is how the city earned its title the Garden of the Hejaz. During the Year of the Elephant, this city was involved in the events, both Taif and Mecca were resorts of pilgrimage. Taif was more pleasantly situated than Mecca itself and the people of Taif had close relations with the people of Mecca. The people of Taif carried on agriculture and fruit‑growing in addition to their trade activities, in AD630, the Battle of Hunayn took place at Hunayn, close to this city. Shortly after that, the unsuccessful Siege of Taif took place, the city was assaulted by catapults from Banu Daws, but it repelled the attacks. The Battle of Tabouk in 631 left Tāif completely isolated, so members of Thaqīf arrived in Mecca to negotiate the conversion of the city to Islam, the idol of Al-lāt was destroyed along with all of the other signs of the citys previously pagan existence. On 17 July 1517 the Sharif of Mecca capitulated to the Ottoman Sultan Selim I, as a sign of this, he surrendered to him the keys of the Islamic cities of Mecca and Medina. As part of the Hejaz, Taif was also given over to Ottoman control, the city remained Ottoman for a further three centuries, until in 1802, when it was retaken by rebels in alliance with the House of Saud. These forces then proceeded to take Mecca and Medina, the loss was keenly felt by the Ottoman Empire, which viewed itself as the protector of the Holy Cities. The Ottoman sultan, Mahmud II, called upon his nominal viceroy in Egypt, Muhammad Ali, in 1813, the Swiss traveller and orientalist Johann Ludwig Burckhardt visited Taif. He has left an account on the city just after its recapture by the Muhammad Ali. Burckhardt says that the wall and ditch around the city had built by Othman el Medhayfe

38.
Sir Henry McMahon
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Lieutenant Colonel Sir Arthur Henry McMahon GCMG GCVO KCIE CSI KStJ, was a British Indian Army officer and diplomat who served as the High Commissioner in Egypt from 1915 to 1917. He was also an administrator in the British Raj and served twice as Chief Commissioner of Balochistan, after the Sykes-Picot Agreement was published by the Bolshevik Russian government in November 1917, McMahon resigned. He also features prominently in T. E, lawrences account of his role in the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire during World War I, Seven Pillars of Wisdom. He apparently fought at the battles of Saintfield and Ballynahinch and after the overall defeat had been able to flee to France where he served with Napoléons Irish Legion. McMahon was commissioned a Lieutenant in the Indian Staff Corps in the 1880s and was appointed a Companion of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire in 1894. By 1897, he had promoted to captain and was appointed a Companion of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India in that year. He was promoted Major in the army in July 1901 and he was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire in 1906 and promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 1909. In 1911, on the occasion of the Delhi Durbar, he was secretary of the British government in India. The King made him a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order and he spoke Persian, Afghan, and Hindoostani, an aptitude for languages that led also to Arabic. Sir Henry was appointed to the post of High Commissioner in Egypt in 1915, when he arrived by train Sir Ronald Storrs described him as quiet, friendly, agreeable, considerate and cautious, although later in his career Storrs and others were not so charitable. He was made a Knight of Grace of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, McMahon replaced Sir Milne Cheetham, briefly acting for Kitchener. Although a temporary appointment it became a permanent post, for a political administrator. McMahon was appointed British High Commissioner in Cairo, to replace Lord Kitchener who had become War Secretary in London, Sir Gilbert Clayton, Aubrey Herbert, Storrs and others of the intelligence community approved of McMahons pro-Arabist policy from 1916 onwards. McMahon sat on the plan to use the Sharif to support British for six months, Storrs thought the diplomacy was in every way exaggerated. He was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael, by May 1916, Turkish troops had arrived in Mecca, McMahon received a telegram from Abdullah ibn Husayn, Sharif Husayns son, that the Movement was ready. McMahon despatched the oriental secretary, Storrs to London with a team of intelligence experts, the British decision to land at the Dardanelles, instead of Alexandretta, and to allow French Syria founded by the Sykes-Picot Agreement to exist at all, irritated McMahon. In 1920, he was awarded the Order of El Nahda, 1st Class, in 1925, he was promoted to a Knight of Justice of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem. Another species of snake, Eirenis mcmahoni, also named in his honor, is considered a synonym of Eirenis persicus, the Annals of Ulster from 1790 to 1798

39.
Hussein-McMahon Correspondence
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Growing Arab nationalism had led to a desire for independence from the Ottoman Empire. In the letters Britain agreed to recognize Arab independence after World War I in the limits and boundaries proposed by the Sherif of Mecca and this was in exchange for Arab help in fighting the Ottomans, led by Hussein bin Ali. Later, the 1916 Sykes–Picot Agreement between France and UK was exposed showing that the two countries were planning to split and occupy parts of the promised Arab country. In January 1923 unofficial excerpts were published by Joseph N. M. Jeffries in the Daily Mail, on this occasion, Faisal joined their revolutionary movement. During this visit, on 23 May 1915, he was presented with the document that became known as the Damascus Protocol, early in April 1914 Abdullah I bin al-Hussein asked the British High Commissioner in Cairo what would be the British attitude if the Arab Ottomans revolted. The British response based on its policy of preserving the integrity of the Ottoman Empire was negative. However, the entry of the Ottomans on Germanys side in World War I on 11 November 1914 brought about a shift in British political interests concerning an Arab revolt against the Ottomans. The letter from McMahon to Hussein dated 24 October 1915 declared Britains willingness to recognize the independence of the Arabs subject to certain exemptions, note that the original correspondence was conducted in both English and Arabic, such that various slightly differing English translations are extant. Declassified British Cabinet Papers include a telegram dated 19 October 1915 from Sir Henry McMahon to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Lord Grey, requesting instructions. McMahon said the clause had been suggested by a man named Muhammed Sharif al-Faruqi, Lord Grey authorized McMahon to pledge the areas requested by the Sherif subject to the reserve for the Allies. McMahons promises were seen by the Arabs as an agreement between them and the United Kingdom. Lloyd George and Arthur Balfour represented the agreement as a treaty during the post war deliberations of the Council of Four, if properly handled they would remain in a state of political mosaic, a tissue of small jealous principalities incapable of cohesion. The Arab Revolt began in June 1916, when an Arab army of around 70,000 men moved against Ottoman forces. They participated in the capture of Aqabah and the severing of the Hejaz railway and this enabled the Egyptian Expeditionary Force under the command of General Allenby to advance into the Ottoman territories of Palestine and Syria. The British advance culminated in the Battle of Megiddo in September 1918, the Arab revolt is seen by historians as the first organized movement of Arab nationalism. It brought together different Arab groups for the first time with the goal to fight for independence from the Ottoman Empire. Much of the history of Arabic independence stemmed from the beginning with the kingdom founded by Hussein. After the war was over, the Arab revolt had implications, groups of people were put into classes based on if they had fought in the revolt or not and what their rank was

40.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker

41.
Mandatory Palestine
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Mandatory Palestine was a geopolitical entity under British administration, carved out of Ottoman Southern Syria after World War I. British civil administration in Palestine operated from 1920 until 1948, further confusing the issue was the Balfour Declaration of 1917, promising British support for a Jewish national home in Palestine. At the wars end the British and French set up a joint Occupied Enemy Territory Administration in what had been Ottoman Syria, the British achieved legitimacy for their continued control by obtaining a mandate from the League of Nations in June 1922. The civil Mandate administration was formalized with the League of Nations consent in 1923 under the British Mandate for Palestine, the land west of the Jordan River, known as Palestine, was under direct British administration until 1948. The land east of the Jordan, a region known as Transjordan, under the rule of the Hashemite family from the Hijaz. The divergent tendencies regarding the nature and purpose of the mandate are visible already in the discussions concerning the name for this new entity. As a set-off to this, certain of the Arab politicians suggested that the country should be called Southern Syria in order to emphasise its close relation with another Arab State. During the British Mandate period the area experienced the ascent of two major nationalist movements, one among the Jews and the other among the Arabs, following its occupation by British troops in 1917–1918, Palestine was governed by the Occupied Enemy Territory Administration. In July 1920, the administration was replaced by a civilian administration headed by a High Commissioner. The first High Commissioner, Herbert Samuel, a Zionist recent cabinet minister, arrived in Palestine on 20 June 1920, following the arrival of the British, Muslim-Christian Associations were established in all the major towns. In 1919 they joined to hold the first Palestine Arab Congress in Jerusalem and its main platforms were a call for representative government and opposition to the Balfour Declaration. The Zionist Commission was formed in March 1918 and was active in promoting Zionist objectives in Palestine, on 19 April 1920, elections were held for the Assembly of Representatives of the Palestinian Jewish community. The Zionist Commission received official recognition in 1922 as representative of the Palestinian Jewish community, Rutenberg soon established an electric company whose shareholders were Zionist organizations, investors, and philanthropists. Palestinian-Arabs saw it as proof that the British intended to favor Zionism, when Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Kamil al-Husayni died in March 1921, High Commissioner Samuel appointed his half-brother Mohammad Amin al-Husseini to the position. Amin al-Husseini, a member of the clan of Jerusalem, was an Arab nationalist. As Grand Mufti, as well as the influential positions that he held during this period. In 1922, al-Husseini was elected President of the Supreme Muslim Council which had created by Samuel in December 1921. The Council controlled the Waqf funds, worth annually tens of thousands of pounds, in addition, he controlled the Islamic courts in Palestine

42.
Balfour Declaration
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The text of the letter was published in the press one week later, on 9 November 1917. The Balfour Declaration was later incorporated into both the Sèvres peace treaty with the Ottoman Empire, and the Mandate for Palestine, the original document is kept at the British Library. The Sharif of Mecca Hussein ibn Ali al-Hashimi and other Arab leaders considered the Declaration a violation of agreements made in the McMahon-Hussein correspondence. The British claimed that the McMahon letters did not apply to Palestine, the issuance of the Declaration had many long lasting consequences, and was a key moment in the lead-up to the Arab–Israeli conflict, often referred to as the worlds most intractable conflict. Early British political support was precipitated in the late 1830s and led by Lord Palmerston, following the Eastern Crisis after Muhammad Ali occupied Syria, Zionism arose in the late 19th century in reaction to anti-Semitic and exclusionary nationalist movements in Europe. In 1896 Herzl published Der Judenstaat, in which he asserted that the solution to the Jewish Question in Europe. This marked the emergence of political Zionism, a year later, Herzl founded the Zionist Organization, which at its first congress called for the establishment of a home for the Jewish people in Palestine secured under public law. Herzl died in 1904 without the political standing that was required to carry out his agenda of a Jewish home in Palestine. According to Weizmanns memoir, the conversation went as follows, Mr. Balfour, supposing I was to offer you Paris instead of London and he sat up, looked at me, and answered, But Dr. Weizmann, we have London. That is true, I said, but we had Jerusalem when London was a marsh and he. said two things which I remember vividly. The first was, Are there many Jews who think like you, I answered, I believe I speak the mind of millions of Jews whom you will never see and who cannot speak for themselves. To this he said, If that is so you will one day be a force, shortly before I withdrew, Balfour said, It is curious. The Jews I meet are quite different, I answered, Mr. Balfour, you meet the wrong kind of Jews. In 1914, war broke out in Europe between the Triple Entente and the Central Powers, on 10 December 1914 he met with the British cabinet member Herbert Samuel, a Zionist, who believed Weizmanns demands were too modest. Two days later, Weizmann met Balfour again, for the first time since 1906, a month later, Samuel circulated a memorandum entitled The Future of Palestine to his cabinet colleagues. It was the first time in a record that enlisting the support of Jews as a war measure was proposed. Lloyd-George described in his War Memoirs that Weizmann, explained his aspirations as to the repatriation of the Jews to the sacred land they had made famous. That was the fount and origin of the declaration about the National Home for the Jews in Palestine

43.
Hogarth Message
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The message assured Hussein that The Entente Powers are determined that the Arab race shall be given full opportunity of once again forming a nation in the world. This can only be achieved by the Arabs themselves uniting, and Great Britain, as regards the Mosque of Omar it shall be considered as a Moslem concern alone and shall not be subjected directly or indirectly to any non-Moslem authority. In this connexion the friendship of world Jewry to the Arab cause is equivalent to support in all States where Jews have a political influence. Under the terms of agreement, the Zionist Organization needed to secure an agreement along the lines of the Faisal-Weizmann Agreement with the Sharif of Mecca

Faisal I of Iraq
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Faisal I bin Hussein bin Ali al-Hashimi, was King of the Arab Kingdom of Syria or Greater Syria in 1920, and was King of Iraq from 23 August 1921 to 1933. He was a member of the Hashemite dynasty, while in power, Faisal tried to diversify his administration by including different ethnic and religious groups in offices. However, Faisal’s attempt at

Al-Fatat
–
Al-Fatat or the Young Arab Society was an underground Arab nationalist organization in the Ottoman Empire. Its aims were to gain independence and unity for various Arab territories then under the Ottoman rule and it found adherents in areas such as Syria. The organization maintained contacts with the movement in the Ottoman and included many radica

Damascus
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Damascus is the capital and likely the largest city of Syria, following the decline in population of Aleppo due to the ongoing battle for the city. It is commonly known in Syria as ash-Sham and nicknamed as the City of Jasmine, in addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major cultural and religi

1.
View of Damascus from Mount Qassioun

2.
Damascus in spring seen from Spot satellite

3.
One of the rare periods the Barada river is high, seen here next to the Four Seasons hotel in downtown Damascus

4.
Umayyad Mosque façade

Constantinople
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Constantinople was the capital city of the Roman/Byzantine Empire, and also of the brief Latin, and the later Ottoman empires. It was reinaugurated in 324 AD from ancient Byzantium as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Emperor Constantine the Great, after whom it was named, Constantinople was famed for its massive and complex defences. The firs

1.
Constantinople in the Byzantine era

2.
Map of Byzantine Constantinople

3.
Emperor Constantine I presents a representation of the city of Constantinople as tribute to an enthroned Mary and Christ Child in this church mosaic. Hagia Sophia, c. 1000

4.
Coin struck by Constantine I to commemorate the founding of Constantinople

Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca
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At the end of his reign he also briefly laid claim to the office of Caliph. A member of the Awn clan of the Qatadid emirs of Mecca, he was perceived to have rebellious inclinations, in 1908, in the aftermath of the Young Turk Revolution, he was appointed Emir of Mecca by Sultan Abdul Hamid II. Shortly after the outbreak of the revolt Hussein declar

1.
Sharif Hussein in December 1916

2.
Sayyid Hussein bin Ali, Sharif and Emir of Mecca, King of Hejaz

3.
The funeral of King Hussein in Jerusalem, 1931.

Ottoman Empire
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After 1354, the Ottomans crossed into Europe, and with the conquest of the Balkans the Ottoman Beylik was transformed into a transcontinental empire. The Ottomans ended the Byzantine Empire with the 1453 conquest of Constantinople by Mehmed the Conqueror, at the beginning of the 17th century the empire contained 32 provinces and numerous vassal sta

1.
Battle of Nicopolis in 1396. Painting from 1523.

2.
Flag (1844–1923)

3.
Battle of Mohács in 1526

4.
Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha defeats the Holy League of Charles V under the command of Andrea Doria at the Battle of Preveza in 1538.

George Antonius
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George Habib Antonius, CBE was a Lebanese-Egyptian author and diplomat, settled in Jerusalem, one of the first historians of Arab nationalism. Born in Deir al Qamar in a Lebanese Eastern Orthodox Christian family, Antonius graduated from Cambridge University and joined the newly formed British Mandate Administration in Palestine as the deputy in th

1.
George Antonius.

2.
London Conference, St. James' Palace, February 1939. Palestinian delegates (foreground), Left to right: Fu'ad Saba, Yaqub Al-Ghussein, Musa Alami, Amin Tamimi, Jamal Al-Husseini, Awni Abdul Hadi, George Antonius, and Alfred Roch. Facing the Palestinians are the British, with Sir Neville Chamberlain presiding. To his right is Lord Halifax, and to his left, Malcolm MacDonald

3.
While writing The Arab Awakening, Antonius was a tenant at the Shepherd Hotel, belonging to the Mufti.

Mersin
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Mersin is a large city and a port on the Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey. It is part of an interurban agglomeration – the Adana-Mersin Metropolitan Area – and lies on the part of Çukurova, a geographical, economical. Mersins nickname within Turkey is Pearl of the Mediterranean and the city hosted the 2013 Mediterranean Games, Mersin is the p

1.
Mersin Yenişehir shore to west

2.
Mertim Tower

3.
Mersin Halkevi

4.
Atatürk Museum

Adana
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Adana is a major city in southern Turkey. The city is situated on the Seyhan river,35 km inland from the Mediterranean Sea and it is the administrative seat of the Adana Province and has a population of 1.7 million, making it the fifth most populous city in Turkey. Adana-Mersin polycentric metropolitan area, with a population of 3 million, stretche

Mardin
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Mardin is a city in southeastern Turkey. The capital of Mardin Province, it is known for the Artuqid architecture of its old city, the territory of Mardin and Karaca Dağ was known as Izalla in the Late Bronze Age, an originally Hurrian kingdom. The city and its surrounds were absorbed into Assyria proper during the Middle Assyrian Empire, the ancie

1.
The old city of Mardin

2.
Men in Mardin, around 1900

3.
Panorama of Mardin

4.
Main post office building

Midyat
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Midyat is a town in Mardin Province of Turkey. The ancient city is the center of a centuries-old Hurrian/Hurrian town in Southeast-Turkey, a cognate of the name Midyat is first encountered in an inscription of the Assyrian king Ashur-nasir-pal II. This royal text depicts how forces conquered the city and its surrounding villages, in its long histor

1.
Mor Barsawmo Syriac Orthodox Church. Although now a minority of less than 10% of the population, Christian churches under long term protection of Turks now dominate the skyline of Midyat.

Cizre
–
Cizre is a town and district of Şırnak Province in the Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey, on the border with Syria, just to the northwest of the Turkish-Syrian-Iraqi tripoint. It is populated by a majority of Kurds in addition to Assyrian/Syriac people and it is surrounded by the Tigris on the north, east and south, this gives it its name, whi

1.
Aerial view of Cizre, Turkey.

Amadiya
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Amadiya /ˌɑːməˈdiːə/ is an Assyrian and Kurdish populated town and popular summer resort and Hill station along a tributary to the Great Zab in the Dahuk Governorate of Iraqi Kurdistan. The city is situated 4,600 feet above sea level, the history of the city of Amadiya goes back as far as ancient Assyria, and it has probably existed even prior to t

1.
Amadiya bird's eye view

Abdullah I of Jordan
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Abdullah I bin al-Hussein, King of Jordan, born in Mecca, Hejaz, Ottoman Empire, was the second of three sons of Hussein bin Ali, Sharif and Emir of Mecca and his first wife Abdiyya bint Abdullah. He was educated in Constantinople and Hejaz, from 1909 to 1914, Abdullah sat in the Ottoman legislature, as deputy for Mecca, but allied with Britain dur

1.
Abdullah I

2.
Abdullah I of Transjordan during the visit to Turkey with Turkish President Mustafa Kemal

3.
Coronation of King Abdullah in Amman. Right to left: King Abdullah, Emir 'Abd al-Ilah (Regent of the Kingdom of Iraq), and Emir Naif (King Abdullah's youngest son), 25 May 1946.

4.
Postage stamp, Transjordan, 1930.

Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener
–
His term as Commander-in-Chief of the Army in India saw him quarrel with another eminent proconsul, the Viceroy Lord Curzon, who eventually resigned. Kitchener then returned to Egypt as British Agent and Consul-General, in 1914, at the start of the First World War, Kitchener became Secretary of State for War, a Cabinet Minister. Kitchener died on 5

1.
Earl Kitchener

2.
Kitchener on his mother's lap, with his brother and sister

3.
Kitchener, Commander of the Egyptian Army (centre right), 1898

4.
Kitchener on horseback in The Queenslander Pictorial in 1910

Hejaz
–
The Hejaz, also Al-Hijaz, is a region in the west of present-day Saudi Arabia. The region is so called as it separates the land of the Najd in the east from the land of Tihamah in the west and it is also known as the Western Province. It is bordered on the west by the Red Sea, on the north by Jordan, on the east by the Najd and its main city is Jed

1.
Map with the Saudi region outlined in red and the 1923 Kingdom in green

2.
Mountains of Hejaz

Sir Ronald Storrs
–
Sir Ronald Henry Amherst Storrs KCMG CBE was an official in the British Foreign and Colonial Office. He served as Oriental Secretary in Cairo, Military Governor of Jerusalem, Governor of Cyprus, the eldest son of John Storrs, the Dean of Rochester. Ronald Storrs was educated at Charterhouse School and Pembroke College, Cambridge where he gained a f

1.
Sir Ronald Storrs

2.
Plaque in Jerusalem commemorating the inauguration of King George Street in 1924

Mecca
–
Mecca or Makkah is a city in the Hejaz region of Saudi Arabia that is also capital of the Makkah Region. The city is located 70 km inland from Jeddah in a valley at a height of 277 m above sea level. Its resident population in 2012 was roughly 2 million, although more than triple this number every year during the hajj period held in the twelfth Mus

4.
Jabal al-Nour is where Muhammad is believed to have received the first revelation of God through the Archangel Gabriel.

Germany
–
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular

1.
The Nebra sky disk is dated to c. 1600 BC.

2.
Flag

3.
Martin Luther (1483–1546) initiated the Protestant Reformation.

4.
Foundation of the German Empire in Versailles, 1871. Bismarck is at the center in a white uniform.

London
–
London /ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain and it was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. Londons ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1. 12-square-mile medieval boundaries. London is a global city

1.
Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace and Central London skyline

4.
The name London may derive from the River Thames

Middle East
–
The Middle East is a transcontinental region centered on Western Asia and Egypt. The corresponding adjective is Middle-Eastern and the noun is Middle-Easterner. The term has come into usage as a replacement of the term Near East beginning in the early 20th century. Arabs, Turks, Persians, Kurds, and Azeris constitute the largest ethnic groups in th

1.
The Temple Mount in Jerusalem

2.
Map of the Middle East (green).

3.
The Kaaba, located in Mecca, Saudi Arabia

4.
Islam is the largest religion in the Middle East. Here, Muslim men are prostrating during prayer in a mosque.

Caliphate
–
A caliphate is an area containing an Islamic steward known as a caliph —a person considered a religious successor to the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, and a leader of the entire Muslim community. During the history of Islam after the Rashidun period, many Muslim states, the Sunni branch of Islam stipulates that, as a head of state, a caliph should be

1.
Mustansiriya University in Baghdad

2.
Caliphate خِلافة

3.
Abdülmecid II was the last Caliph of Islam from the Ottoman dynasty.

Medina
–
Medina, also transliterated as Madīnah, is a city in the Hejaz region of Saudi Arabia that is also the capital of the Al Madinah Region. The city contains al-Masjid an-Nabawi, which is the place of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It served as the base of Islam in its first century where the early Muslim community developed. Medina is home to the thre

3.
The Quba Mosque is the first mosque in history built by Muhammad upon arrival in Medina

4.
Mount Uhud

Islam
–
Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion which professes that there is only one and incomparable God and that Muhammad is the last messenger of God. It is the worlds second-largest religion and the major religion in the world, with over 1.7 billion followers or 23% of the global population. Islam teaches that God is merciful, all-powerful, and u

1.
The Kaaba, in Mecca, Hejaz region, today's Saudi Arabia, is the center of Islam. Muslims from all over the world gather there to pray in unity.

2.
The dome of the Carol I Mosque in Constanța, Romania, topped by the Islamic crescent

4.
An angel presenting Muhammad and his companions with a miniature city. In the Topkapi Palace Library, Istanbul.

Jihad
–
Jihad is an Arabic word which literally means striving or struggling, especially with a praiseworthy aim. It can have many shades of meaning in an Islamic context, such as struggle against ones evil inclinations, in classical Islamic law, the term refers to armed struggle against unbelievers, while modernist Islamic scholars generally equate milita

1.
Sayyid Qutb, Islamist author

Allies of World War I
–
The Allies of World War I were the countries that opposed the Central Powers in the First World War. The members of the original Triple Entente of 1907 were the French Republic, the British Empire, Belgium, Serbia, Greece, Montenegro, and Romania were affiliated members of the Entente. The 1920 Treaty of Sèvres defines the Principal Allied Powers a

1.
A 1914 Russian poster depicting the Triple Entente.

2.
European military alliances prior to the war.

3.
The Council of Four (from left to right): David Lloyd George, Vittorio Emanuele Orlando, Georges Clemenceau and Woodrow Wilson in Versailles

4.
British soldiers in a trench during the Battle of the Somme in 1916.

Ali of Hejaz
–
Ali bin Hussein, GBE was King of Hejaz and Grand Sharif of Mecca from October 1924 until he was deposed by Ibn Saud in December 1925. He was the eldest son of Sharif Hussein bin Ali, the first modern King of Hejaz, with the passing of the kingship from his father he also became the heir to the title of Caliph, but he did not adopt the khalifal offi

1.
Ali bin Hussein

Hashemite
–
The House of Hashim, better known as the Hashemites Hashmi, are the royal family of the Hejaz, Iraq, and Jordan. Their eponymous ancestor is Hashim ibn Abd Manaf, great-grandfather of the Islamic prophet and his sons Abdullah and Faisal assumed the thrones of Jordan and Iraq in 1921. The dynasty is the oldest ruling dynasty in the Islamic World, th

2.
Coats of arms of Jordan, Iraq, and Hejaz

3.
The Hashemite banner used ceremoniously by the Kingdom Of Jordan

Grand Vizier
–
In the Ottoman Empire, the Grand Vizier was the prime minister of the Ottoman sultan, with absolute power of attorney and, in principle, dismissible only by the sultan himself. His offices were located at the Sublime Porte, the term “vizier” was originally a denomination used by the Abbasid Dynasty in the 8th century AD. This position then came to

1.
The Grand Vizier giving an audience "under the dome"

2.
Koca Sinan Pasha

3.
Sadullah Khan Grand Vizier of the Mughal Empire during the reign of Shah Jahan.

4.
Shuja-ud-Daula served as the leading Grand Vizier of the Mughal Empire during the Third Battle of Panipat, he was also the Nawab of Awadh, and a loyal ally of Shah Alam II.

Great power
–
A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. International relations theorists have posited that great power status can be characterized into power capabilities, spatial aspects, while some nations are widely considered to be great powers, there is no definitive

1.
Great powers are recognized in an international structure such as the United Nations Security Council. Shown here is the Security Council Chamber.

2.
Leopold von Ranke was one of the first to attempt to scientifically document the great powers.

Great Britain
–
Great Britain, also known as Britain, is a large island in the north Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of 209,331 km2, Great Britain is the largest European island, in 2011 the island had a population of about 61 million people, making it the worlds third-most populous island after Java in Indonesia and Hons

Turkey
–
Turkey, officially the Republic of Turkey, is a transcontinental country in Eurasia, mainly in Anatolia in Western Asia, with a smaller portion on the Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. Turkey is a democratic, secular, unitary, parliamentary republic with a cultural heritage. The country is encircled by seas on three sides, the Aegean Sea is to

1.
Some henges at Göbekli Tepe were erected as far back as 12,000 BC, predating those of Stonehenge, England by almost ten millennia.

2.
Flag

3.
The Lion Gate in Hattusa, capital of the Hittite Empire. The city's history dates back to the 6th millennium BC.

4.
The Library of Celsus in Ephesus was built by the Romans in 135 AD. The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, built by king Croesus of Lydia in the 6th century BC, was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Persia
–
Iran, also known as Persia, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a sovereign state in Western Asia. Comprising a land area of 1,648,195 km2, it is the second-largest country in the Middle East, with 82.8 million inhabitants, Iran is the worlds 17th-most-populous country. It is the country with both a Caspian Sea and an Indian Ocean coastline

1.
Cave painting in Doushe cave, Lorestan, Iran, 8th millennium BC

2.
Flag

3.
A depiction of the united Medes and Persians in Apadana, Persepolis

Persian Gulf
–
The Persian Gulf is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Indian Ocean through the Strait of Hormuz, the Shatt al-Arab river delta forms the northwest shoreline. The Persian Gulf was a battlefield of the 1980–1988 Iran–Iraq War and it is the namesake of the 1991 Gulf War, the largely air- and land-based confl

1.
Persian Gulf from space

2.
A historical map of the Persian Gulf in a Dubai museum with the word Persian removed

3.
Picture depicting extent of early civilizations around the Persian Gulf, including Lackhmids, and Sassanids.

4.
Picture depicting the Achaemenid Persian empire in relation to the Persian Gulf.

Mediterranean Sea
–
The sea is sometimes considered a part of the Atlantic Ocean, although it is usually identified as a separate body of water. The name Mediterranean is derived from the Latin mediterraneus, meaning inland or in the middle of land and it covers an approximate area of 2.5 million km2, but its connection to the Atlantic is only 14 km wide. The Strait o

1.
Circa the 6th century BCE: In ancient times the Mediterranean provided sources of food and local commerce and direct routes for trade and communications, colonisation, and war. Numerous cities and colonies were situated at its shores or within the basin: Greek (red) and Phoenician (yellow) colonies in antiquity; and other cities (grey), including the provincial "Rom".

2.
Map of the Mediterranean Sea

3.
With its highly indented coastline and large number of islands, Greece has the longest Mediterranean coastline.

4.
The Battle of Lepanto, 1571, ended in victory for the European Holy League against the Ottoman Turks.

Arabian Sea
–
The Arabian Sea is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by northeastern Somalia and the Arabian Peninsula, and on the east by India. Historically the sea has been known by names including the Erythraean Sea. Its total area is 3,862,000 km2 and its depth is 4,652 metres. The Gulf of Aden is in

1.
Arabian Sea from space

2.
Arabian Sea

3.
17th century map depicting the locations of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea

4.
The Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai, India is the largest port of India and one of the busiest in the Arabian Sea

Ta'if
–
Taif is a city in Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia at an elevation of 1,879 m on the slopes of Sarawat Mountains. It has a population of 1,200,000 people and is the summer capital. The city is the center of an area known for its grapes, pomegranate, figs, roses. The inhabitants of Taif are largely made up of Saudi Arabians who are Hanbali, there are

1.
Taif skyline

2.
Landscape from south of Ta'if (Saudi Arabia).

3.
Road to Ta'if in the foreground, mountains of Ta'if in the background (Saudi Arabia).

Sir Henry McMahon
–
Lieutenant Colonel Sir Arthur Henry McMahon GCMG GCVO KCIE CSI KStJ, was a British Indian Army officer and diplomat who served as the High Commissioner in Egypt from 1915 to 1917. He was also an administrator in the British Raj and served twice as Chief Commissioner of Balochistan, after the Sykes-Picot Agreement was published by the Bolshevik Russ

1.
Lieutenant Colonel Sir Henry McMahon GCMG GCVO KCIE CSI KStJ

Hussein-McMahon Correspondence
–
Growing Arab nationalism had led to a desire for independence from the Ottoman Empire. In the letters Britain agreed to recognize Arab independence after World War I in the limits and boundaries proposed by the Sherif of Mecca and this was in exchange for Arab help in fighting the Ottomans, led by Hussein bin Ali. Later, the 1916 Sykes–Picot Agreem

International Standard Book Number
–
The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning

1.
A 13-digit ISBN, 978-3-16-148410-0, as represented by an EAN-13 bar code

Mandatory Palestine
–
Mandatory Palestine was a geopolitical entity under British administration, carved out of Ottoman Southern Syria after World War I. British civil administration in Palestine operated from 1920 until 1948, further confusing the issue was the Balfour Declaration of 1917, promising British support for a Jewish national home in Palestine. At the wars e

Balfour Declaration
–
The text of the letter was published in the press one week later, on 9 November 1917. The Balfour Declaration was later incorporated into both the Sèvres peace treaty with the Ottoman Empire, and the Mandate for Palestine, the original document is kept at the British Library. The Sharif of Mecca Hussein ibn Ali al-Hashimi and other Arab leaders con

1.
An image of Balfour and the Declaration

2.
Lord Balfour's desk, in the Museum of the Jewish Diaspora, in Tel Aviv

3.
Balfour Declaration as published in The Times 9 November 1917

Hogarth Message
–
The message assured Hussein that The Entente Powers are determined that the Arab race shall be given full opportunity of once again forming a nation in the world. This can only be achieved by the Arabs themselves uniting, and Great Britain, as regards the Mosque of Omar it shall be considered as a Moslem concern alone and shall not be subjected dir

1.
Map showing the boundaries of the proposed protectorate of Palestine, as outlined by the Zionist representatives at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, superimposed on modern boundaries. [citation needed]

1.
UNSCOP (3 September 1947; see green line) and UN Ad Hoc Committee (25 November 1947) partition plans. The UN Ad Hoc Committee proposal was voted on in the resolution.

2.
Map showing Jewish-owned land as of 31 December 1944, including land owned in full, shared in undivided land and State Lands under concession. This constituted 6% of the total land area or 20% of cultivative land, of which more than half was held by the JNF and PICA

1.
Clockwise from the top: The aftermath of shelling during the Battle of the Somme, Mark V tanks cross the Hindenburg Line, HMS Irresistible sinks after hitting a mine in the Dardanelles, a British Vickers machine gun crew wears gas masks during the Battle of the Somme, Albatros D.III fighters of Jagdstaffel 11

2.
Sarajevo citizens reading a poster with the proclamation of the Austrian annexation in 1908.

3.
This picture is usually associated with the arrest of Gavrilo Princip, although some believe it depicts Ferdinand Behr, a bystander.

1.
Detail from William Orpen 's painting The Signing of Peace in the Hall of Mirrors, Versailles, 28th June 1919, showing the signing of the peace treaty by the German Minister of Transport Dr Johannes Bell, opposite to the representatives of the winning powers.

2.
"The Big Four" made all the major decisions at the Paris Peace Conference (from left to right, David Lloyd George of Britain, Vittorio Emanuele Orlando of Italy, Georges Clemenceau of France, Woodrow Wilson of the U.S.)

3.
The British Air Section at the Conference

4.
The Australian delegation. At the center is Australian Prime Minister Billy Hughes

1.
Soviet Ukrainian propaganda poster issued following the Petlura-Piłsudski alliance. The Ukrainian text reads: "Corrupt Petlura has sold Ukraine to the Polish landowners. Landowners burned and plundered Ukraine. Death to landowners and Petlurovites."

2.
Polish General Antoni Listowski (left) and exiled Ukrainian leader Symon Petliura (second from left) following the Petlura's alliance with the Poles.